Birkirkara's Galea announces retirement
Sunday, June 19, 2011
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Michael Galea said he was "proud to have donned the yellow and red jersey of this great club for 14 years" after leaving Birkirkara FC and retiring from football aged 32.
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After 14 years at the club, Malta striker Michael Galea has left Birkirkara FC and retired from football with immediate effect.
Galea, now 32, joined Birkirkara aged 18 in 1997/98 and went on to score 177 goals in 334 appearances for the Stripes. He is behind only Stefan Sultana and Gilbert Agius in the list of Maltese all-time leading scorers. "It was definitely not an easy decision," said Galea after calling time on a career in which he won three Maltese Premier League titles.
"I would like to thank the Birkirkara committee for accepting my request," he added. "I am proud to have donned the yellow and red jersey of this great club for the past 14 years and to have contributed to the successes that Birkirkara have enjoyed throughout this era. I wish the club the very best for the future."
Galea, who played five times for the Maltese national team, featured in 20 top-flight games last term, scoring six goals. Birkirkara finished third and will enter the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League in the first qualifying round.
