Will Park Ji-sung announce retirement on Wednesday?

By Kim Tong-hyung

Park Ji-sung, widely considered as the best Korean footballer of the past decade, may announce his retirement in a news conference in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday, according to sources close to the player.

Park recently finished his season with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven where he arrived on loan from English club Queens Park Rangers (QRP).

Park is under contract with QPR June next year, but has been opinionated about finishing his career with PSV Eindhoven, where he made his European football debut in 2003. Park joined Manchester United in 2005 and played at Old Trafford for seven seasons before moving to QPR in 2012. If QPR does not allow him to, Park would prefer hanging up his boots, according to people close to him.

However, Park could be persuaded to play another season for QPR if the club, currently in the second-division Championship, manages to finish the season strong and earn a promotion to the top-flight Premier League. Leicester and Burnley have already confirmed their Premier League status for next season, and they will be joined by one of QPR, Derby or Wigan depending on the outcome of the league playoffs.

Park absolutely has no intentions of finishing his career in second-tier English football, the sources said.

``Park will announce specific plans about his future on Wednesday, including how long he plans to continue to play,’’ said a Korea Football Association spokesman.

Park has enjoyed an illustrious career that saw him emerge as an elite player in top-flight European football and appear in three World Cups, where he scored in each of them. However, it’s clear that, at the age of 33, Park is no longer the industrious midfielder he was for Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United teams.

If Park decides to retire, it will signalman. including how long he plans to continue to play,'