Romario, one of Brazil's greatest strikers, has finally brought the curtain down on his epic career by announcing his retirement at the age of 42.

The 1994 World Cup winner has been forced to admit his expanding wastline and his age have forced him to end a controversial career in which he claims to have scored more than 1,000 goals.

"Officially I'm not playing any more. I've stopped," he said. "My time is up. Everything has been a lot of fun."

The former Barcelona and Vasco da Gama forward scored 56 goals in 73 appearances for Brazil, after making his debut in 1997. Romario began his career with Vasco before moving on to Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia. He returned to Vasco in 2005 and at the age of 39, scored 22 goals in a season to finish as the Brazilian league's top goalscorer.

"These last 20 years for me have been very positive," Romario added. "To be honest, I'm stopping because I don't see myself in any shape to continue playing. I haven't played since November, I've put on three or four kilos since then and, at this age, it's difficult to get back to fitness."

Throughout his career the diminutive striker was famous for being one of the world's best finishers, as was renowned for his hatred of training. He added: "I'm happy because I won't have to train again, or travel or sit in team hotels."

He spearheaded his country's challenge in the 1990 and '94 World Cups, forming a formidable partnership with Bebeto that saw Brazil finally reclaim the game's ultimate prize in the United States after 24 years. In the latter part of his career Romario played for Al Sadd in Qatar, Miami FC and Australian side Adelaide United.

Last May, Romario scored what he claimed was his 1,000th goal but admitted that many of these were scored in friendlies, youth and testimonial games.

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