Tuesday 20 December 2016 08:54, UK
Former Chelsea defender Alex has been forced to retire from football after suffering a knee injury.
The 34-year-old Brazilian, who also spent time at AC Milan and Paris St-Germain, has been without a club since leaving Italy in the summer.
"I'm retiring, I made the decision with my family," Alex told Globoesporte.
"I would need to have surgery and then it would take nine months to come back. I just couldn't put up with that pain."
Alex joined Chelsea from Santos in 2004 and spent the next three years on loan with PSV Eindhoven where he won three straight Eredivisie titles.
He finally moved to Stamford Bridge in 2007 and won the Premier League, two FA Cups and helped the Blues reach the Champions League final in 2008.
The 17-cap Brazil international was signed by Paris St-Germain for £4.2m in 2012 and won the Ligue 1 title before leaving for the San Siro in 2014.
