Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has announced he is leaving the club, a day after his side crushed Watford 6-0 in the English FA Cup final.
Kompnay announced on Facebook that he was to become the player-manager of Belgian side Anderlecht, the club with whom he began his professional career.
"I choose to be grateful for the past, but remain ambitious and driven for the future," said Kompany. "For the next three years, I will take up the role of player/manager of Anderlecht.
"This may come as a surprise to you. It's the most passionate, yet rational decision I've ever made.
"I want to share my knowledge with the next purple generations.
"With that, I will also put a bit of Manchester in the heart of Belgium. This is no goodbye. It's a see you later."
The 33-year-old joined the Brussels club at the age of six and played for the senior team between 2003-06, before moving to Hamburg in Germany for the following two seasons.
He was signed by Manchester City in the summer of 2008 by then-manager Mark Hughes, days before the Sheikh Mansour takeover, and went on to make 360 appearances.
The defender won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and two Community Shields during his 11 years at the club.
"As overwhelming as it is, the time has come for me to go," the Belgian said. "And what a season to bow out.
"Man City has given me everything. I've tried to give back as much as I possibly could.
"How often does someone get the chance to end such an important chapter, representing a club with such great history and tradition, in such a great fashion?
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak paid tribute to Kompany.
"There have been many important contributors to Manchester City's renaissance, but arguably none are more important than Vincent Kompany," he said.
"He defines the essence of the club. For a decade, he has been the lifeblood, the soul, and beating heart of a supremely talented squad.
"A booming voice in the dressing room, yet a quiet and measured ambassador off it, Vincent can be as proud of himself as we are of him."
AAP
