Ben Foster: Former England, Watford and West Brom goalkeeper retires

Ben Foster made his final appearance as a professional in May

Former England, Watford and West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster has retired at the age of 39.

Foster, who won eight England caps, announced the decision on his podcast.

He said he had been offered a deal by Newcastle United to join as cover for the injured Karl Darlow, but the offer was not enough to leave his family based in the Midlands.

Foster, who also played for Manchester United, was a free agent having left Watford in the summer after four years.

"Deep down I didn't want to do it [turn down Newcastle]," Foster told his podcast, The Cycling GK.

"It sounds mad and it's such a hard thing to explain because there'll be millions of people up and down the country that will say 'you've just been offered a contract, a really good contract, by the richest team in the world to go and be second-choice goalkeeper and be part of something'.

"But I just didn't want to do it, I had this deep feeling, and the wrench of it was that I'd have to move away from home, that would kill me.

"If I'm in an apartment in Newcastle by myself, away from my family, I don't think people can understand. That's hard to do, especially at the age I am and with everything else I've got going on.

"I know for a fact if I'd have gone there I'd have had an amazing time, the lads would have been absolutely brilliant and I'd have buzzed off the stadium, the fans, all that kind of stuff, but the overriding sinking feeling was 'I don't want to do this.'"

Foster began his career at Stoke City, but never played a first team game for the Potters.

It was during a loan spell at Wrexham that he was spotted by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson who brought him to Old Trafford in the summer of 2005.

He was immediately loaned to Watford for two years, winning promotion to the Premier League in the first, before spending three seasons at United where he twice won the League Cup but was mainly second choice.

Foster moved to Birmingham City for a two-year spell in 2010, winning the League Cup again in first season before spending the second on loan at West Brom, who then signed him in the summer of 2012.

He spent six campaigns at The Hawthorns before re-joining Watford in 2018 and played a total of 519 games in his career - the last being Watford's final home game in the Premier League last season when they lost 5-1 at home to Leicester City.

He made his international debut in 2007 and made his final England appearance in group stage dead rubber against Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup.