Capped 21 times by England, centre-back Ledley King has retired from football

Ledley King, who appeared for England 21 times, has today announced his retirement from the game.

The Tottenham centre-back made his England debut in 2002, a 2-1 defeat to Italy at Elland Road, but it was almost a year until his next appearance for the Three Lions and another 12 months after that when he picked up his third cap – a 1-1 draw with Portugal where King scored his first England goal.

Under Sven-Goran Eriksson, King was part of the England squad that attended the 2004 European Championship in Portugal, being involved in two games as England reached the quarter-finals, and although he was named in Fabio Capello’s 2010 World Cup squad, persistent knee problems prevented King from earning more than his 21 caps.

King made 323 appearances for Spurs, captaining them to League Cup glory 2008 and leading them to Champions League qualification for the first-ever time in 2010.

He will remain at White Hart Lane in an ambassadorial role.