Long-serving Donegal defender Neil McGee has confirmed his retirement from inter-county football.
Arguably the outstanding full-back of the last decade or so, McGee was part of Donegal’s All-Ireland winning side of 2012 and won five Ulster titles between 2011 and ‘19 as well as All Star awards in 2011, ‘12 and ‘14.
At almost 37 and having first appeared for the county back in 2005, news of his retirement comes as no great surprise after the Gaoth Dobhair man struggled with injury and saw his game time limited over the past couple of seasons.
"The body just doesn't have anything left to give," McGee told the Donegal News. "I thought long and hard about last year, going back I mean. And with Declan (Bonner) staying on, I decided to give it one more shot.
"But with the back playing up like it did after that injury the season before, I just didn’t feature like I would have wanted. So it was a much easier decision this time around.
"Whatever is left in the tank now I intend to give it all to Gaoth Dobhair. I missed so much there over the years because of what we were trying to achieve with Donegal.
“But representing my county, it’s been such a massive part of my life but I can look back and say it was all worth it. I have no regrets.
"Yeah, there are games and big days that got away from us. And they stick in the throat. But if I could rewind the clock and do it all over again I would.”
McGee’s decision means that Paddy McBrearty and captain Michael Murphy are the only survivors from the Donegal team that delivered the county’s second All-Ireland 10 years ago.
They remain without a manager since Bonner stepped down following this year’s Championship campaign, which ended with a heavy loss to Armagh.
With former Fermanagh and Monaghan boss Malachy O’Rourke having ruled himself out, McGee’s former county teammate Rory Kavanagh has emerged as the frontrunner to take charge.
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