Former Sligo Rovers defender Alan Keane retires

Former Sligo Rovers defender Alan Keane has announced his retirement from professional football.

31-year-old Keane started his career playing at underage level with St Bernards before moving on to Mervue United. In 2005 he made the move to Galway United, where he made his League of Ireland debut.

In 2009, Keane made the trip down the N17 were he signed for Sligo Rovers. In seven years at the club he won one league title, three FAI Cups, one League Cup and the Setanta Sports Cup, as well as appearing in both the Europa League and the Champions League.

In an emotional post on his Facebook and twitter pages, Keane thanked the Sligo fans for all their support throughout his career at the Showgrounds.

He said: “It's been one of the toughest decisions to date in my life but the time has come and after a lot of thinking, tears shed and deliberration I've decided to call it a day on my football career.

“It's a decision that I feel is right for me and my family.

“I can look back on my career with lots of pride and joy, be thankful at been [sic] given the opportunity to achieve every young boy's dream of becoming a professional footballer.”