Former Manchester United and England goalkeeper Ben Foster retires at 39. Did he turn down Newcastle's offer? See details to find out

The 39-year-old former Manchester United and England goalkeeper, Ben Foster, has announced his retirement. Ben Foster has made the announcement on his YouTube channel. He has also revealed that he was offered a contract at Newcastle. He has attributed family issues to the reason behind the decision to hang gloves.

The footballer turned YouTuber confirmed he was hanging up his gloves through a video titled "It’s time to say goodbye" posted on his channel on YouTube. Foster made the big announcement to his viewers via video, where he said that time had finally come for him to announce his retirement.

Foster said he admired Newcastle but followed his instincts. The Leamington Spa native expressed his love and respect for Newcastle and said it would have been incredible to work with Nick Pope, the Newcastle goalkeeper, and he admirably called him "Popey." Foster said he loved Adam Bartlett, their goalie coach, and called him a top man. He believed he would have had a fantastic time if he had decided to go there as they had a British core of players, including the gaffer.


He thought he and the ‘lads’ would have been brilliant and buzzed off the stadium, the fans, and all that stuff. But his instincts told him he didn't want to do it. He just wanted to follow his heart and call it quits.

What led to this decision?

Foster said it would kill him to stay far away from his family and that he needed to be happy and comfortable to perform well. Staying in an apartment in Newcastle alone without his family was too hard for him, especially at his age and with everything he had got going in his life.

Foster's Career

During his career, Foster managed eight caps for Three Lions internationals and registered three wins in the League Cup with 536 senior appearances at the club level. He was also a member of the 2014 World Cup squad.

Foster began his football career in 2000 and has since played for West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Watford and Birmingham City, with Watford being his most recent club. Ben was released by Watford this summer as his contract had reached expiry. He rebuffed an offer to move to Newcastle and announced his retirement.

Cycling GK is a YouTube sensation.

Besides football, Foster has a huge fan following with a whopping 1.18 million subscribers on his YouTube channel called "The Cycling GK." His viewers love his cycling videos and matchday vlogs. He also runs a podcast by the name "Fozcast." He now intends to enjoy life as a YouTube sensation.