Ex-Hull and Derby defender Davies retires

Former Hull City and Derby County defender Curtis Davies has announced his retirement to end a career that spanned more than two decades.

The 39-year-old centre-back was released by Cheltenham Town after they were relegated from League One last season.

Davies made a total of 677 professional appearances in English football after making his debut for Luton Town in 2003.

He would go on to represent West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Hull City, Derby County and Cheltenham, scoring for the Tigers in their FA Cup final defeat by Arsenal in 2013-14.

Davies earned three caps for Sierra Leone and played three times for England Under-21s.

"The day has finally come," he wrote on his official X account., external

"After much deliberation over the last few months, I have decided to retire from football.

"Growing up as a kid I simply wanted to be a footballer. So to have been able to play and score at Wembley, play in the Premier League and represent both England U21 and Sierra Leone during my 23 years truly was a dream come true.

"There have been plenty of ups and maybe even more downs, but all combined it made my journey a very special one."

Davies won the League One title with Luton and was part of the squad at Birmingham that won the League Cup in 2010-11, though he was cup-tied and could not play in the final.

Davies made 145 appearances for Hull and scored seven goals.

His FA Cup final goal gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead against Arsenal but the Gunners would fight back to win 3-2.

He moved to Derby in 2017 following Hull's relegation from the Premier League, where he played 175 times and helped the Rams to the Championship play-off final in 2018-19.

He joined Cheltenham last summer and made 39 appearances for the club as they suffered relegation to League Two.