Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen has confirmed he will be quitting the programme following next summer's World Cup.
The former Liverpool captain's contract with the BBC show expires in 2014 and, after his 22-year stint on the programme, he has announced he will not be pursuing an extended deal.
"I'm retiring from Match of the Day at the end of the season," Hansen said. "I will have been there for 22 years and will be 59, so it's the right time for me.
"The guys at the BBC know me and I said, 'Look, this is categorical. I'm leaving and nothing will make me change my mind'. I am contracted to do the World Cup and I will do that as it will be a good way to go out, but I have had a great run.
"I've been in football for 41 years and I'm going out right at the top, just as I did at Liverpool. The plan was always that I would retire at 55. I kept going, but I finally decided to retire during Euro 2012.
"I had just signed a two-year contract and felt that, by the end of it, I would have had enough. But I have worked for a great organisation with wonderful people on the most fantastic programme."
There have been calls in recent years for Match of the Day's older pundits, such as Hansen and Mark Lawrenson, to be axed from the show, to give it a more modern outlook in-keeping with the likes of Sky Sports and the newly-launched BT Sport.
Lawrenson has already been given a reduced role on this season's Saturday night flagship programme, with the likes of former Brighton manager Gus Poyet, ex-Chelsea striker Gianluca Villi and footballer-turned-broadcaster Robbie Savage brought in to improve Match of the Day's analysis of the modern game.
Source: BBC Sport
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