The 35-year-old defender announced his retirement in a video shared on his Twitter page with the caption "Culers, I have to tell you something."

He added: "Culers, it's Gerard. The last few weeks and months, many people have been talking about me.

"Until now, I haven't said anything, but now I want to be the one talking about me.

"Like many of you, I've always been a Barcelona fan and I was born into a footballing family.

"From a very young age, I didn't want to become a footballer. I wanted to become a Barcelona footballer.

"I've been thinking a lot about that kid lately, about what the little Gerard would have thought if he had been told that all of his dreams would come true.