Ex-Man Utd star set for retirement at aged 35 following five years stint in China

Marouane Fellaini made 177 appearances while playing for the Red Devils between 2013 and 2019.

The Belgian was signed by his former manager David Moyes after taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson.

He left Manchester United in 2019 and moved to Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan.

Ex-Man United star Marouane Fellaini is planning on retiring from football at the age of 35 after spending a few years in China.

The Belgian will be retiring this weekend after five years with Chinese Super League team Shandong Taishan, according to manager Choi Kang-hee.

According to Chinese news agency Xinhua as reported by the Sun, Choi made the following remarks during the pre-game press conference for the season finale against Henan FC, "Though with some regret, I respect his decision to retire.

"He is a very great player. Maybe due to his age, his every post-game recovery was rather painstaking, which usually took one day or two."

Fellaini played 137 games for the Chinese team and scored 50 goals. In 2021, he won the Chinese Super League, and from 2020 to 2022, he won the Chinese FA Cup three times in a row.

In an Instagram post at the time, Fellaini declared he would be leaving Shandong at the beginning of September.

Fellaini said, "At the end of this season, after five years, I will say goodbye to the great club of Shandong Taishan FC.

"I have had the privilege of wearing the legendary jersey of this club in 130 games and of contributing to an incredible string of successes: the Super League in 2021 and the CFA Cup in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

"These moments will always be in my memory. As I have always done, I will give everything that I have in me to try to win another trophy this season.

"I am very grateful to our president, our fans, my team-mates, the coaches, the personnel, and everybody who was part of this amazing journey."

Shandong will honour Fellaini with a ceremony after the game on Saturday to celebrate a successful career.

Meanwhile, Fellaini's former team Manchester United crashed out of the EFL Cup following their 3-0 defeat to Newcastle.