Former Leeds United defender Jason Pearce has announced his decision to call time on his playing days. Pearce has made the call to retire after 16 years as a player and he plans to take up a coaching role with Charlton Athletic.
The 34-year-old spent the final six seasons of his career with the London club, making 175 appearances in all competitions, and he will be sticking around at The Valley to work with the club’s under-18s. Pearce represented seven clubs in total, with spells also coming at Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Wigan Athletic and Leeds, as well as stints on loan at Bognor Regis and Woking.
He spent two and a half seasons at Elland Road after being signed by Neil Warnock in 2012 and he went on to make 99 league outings during his time at the club. Under Dave Hockaday he was briefly handed the captaincy reins before being replaced in the role by Stephen Warnock.
Pearce was allowed to leave the club in order to join Wigan in 2015. After almost 600 career appearances, though, he is ready to start the next chapter of his footballing journey, a decision he announced with a heartfelt letter posted on Charlton’s official website.
“This has been one of the most difficult decisions of my career,” he wrote. "To stop something you love when you don’t physically have to.
“After speaking to a lot of people I trust in the game and the closest people to me, as well as a lot of thinking myself, I’ve made the decision to retire from football. People may question my decision to stop playing but, for me, I’ve given everything, put my body to the limit every day physically and feel I’ve achieved all I can so now it’s time for a new challenge.”
He continued: “I feel very fortunate to have been offered the U18 coaching role which allows me to take the next step in my career and work with the next generation of players from Charlton’s prestigious academy.
“For me, the opportunity to work in the Charlton academy, helping the next generations coming through is too good to turn down. It ticks all the boxes for my next chapter, which I have been working hard towards for the past six years.
“I now want to share my knowledge and experience and grow as a coach to help all the players coming through.”
