Former Bulgaria and Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has ruled out a return to professional football, after the English club decided against handing the veteran a new contract.
In 2013, Petrov was forced to retire after contracting an acute form of leukaemia, and trained at his former club's camp in Austria this off-season, with the intent of a remarkable return.
"There will be no comebacks. My return to professional football has failed but I will explain the reasons at a later stage," he told Kanal 3.
"I am glad I was able to come back and do a pre-season, but sometimes things do not work out the way we want.
"Could I become a manager in Bulgaria? Of course, but not soon. I do not want to rush. I have a lot of proposals...Now I want to devote my time to my family, as when others rested, I was training with Aston Villa and now want to spend time with them."
After over 200 games for Celtic, where he was a key creative component in Martin O'Neill's side that made the 2003 UEFA Cup final, Petrov became a universally liked figure in the following seven years at Villa.
