LONDON – Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar will retire at the end of the season, the Dutchman said on Thursday. The 40-year-old former Netherlands international joined United from Fulham in 2005 and has made 245 appearances for the Old Trafford club, winning three Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League crown. Van der Sar’s wife fell seriously ill in December 2009.
“It is now time to pay attention to my family,” he said on the website of his management company (www.sport-promotion.nl). “I cannot really identify a time when it (the decision) happened. “Let’s just say that it was playing on my mind from the moment Annemarie had her stroke. “She has fought back from it. We decided on another year in England and thus to stay at Manchester United.
“But, once engaged in the season, the thought of saying goodbye started to gnaw a bit more emphatically.”
