Aston Villa Captain Stilyan Petrov Quits Football

Petrov issued an official statement saying that he was retiring from football “with a heavy heart.” Photo by BGNES

Aston Villa's Bulgarian midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has announced he is quitting professional football as he continues fight against leukemia.

Petrov, 33, was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2012.

Although the Bulgarian midfielder made clear recently that the hardest part of his treatment was over and he was in remission, on Thursday he issued a statement informing that he was retiring from football.

"Football has been the other great love of my life, so it is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my retirement from the game. The emotions are overwhelming really, but the continued support of family, friends and the great people I have come to know will make it easier for me to move on from the only life I've ever known," Petrov says in his statement.

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