FORMER Saints defender Ryan Bertrand insisted he will be "forever grateful" following the announcement of his retirement from football.

Bertrand, 34, made 240 appearances for Southampton before leaving the club in 2021 at the end of his contract.

He went on to spend two seasons at Leicester City, linking back up with Brendan Rodgers. He left the Foxes in 2023 and had been without a club since.

Bertrand has now switched his attention to the business side of football and hopes to contribute to the 'evolution' of the sport.

Speaking to Sky Sports following the announcement of his retirement, the former full-back explained: “Just to clarify officially, I will be retiring from football.

"It's been a little while but I get asked a lot of questions, like ‘When are you coming back, what are you doing?'

"So, just to make that official, I am retiring and very much looking forward to the next steps.

"From dreaming as a young boy to going on to achieve what I have achieved is absolutely unbelievable.

"I am forever grateful when I look back. I have always been ahead of the curve and I'm super excited about the business of the game.

"I felt I had things in position to transition quite easily. I very much look forward to that. I decided to start the next journey.

"I was fortunate enough to study the game and understand what I wanted to do next and what my purpose would be. 

"I'm getting the wheels in motion for that now. I'm obsessed with the business of sport.

"I very much see myself (asking) 'How do I contribute to the evolution of football?' It's an exciting future ahead."