The 37-year-old, who came through the ranks at West Ham, enjoyed a glittering career in the game and won 56 England caps.
West Ham fans have taken to Twitter to praise homegrown hero Joe Cole following his decision to retire from professional football.
The 37-year-old Londoner came through the ranks at Upton Park and made his first-team debut in 1999 at just 17-years-old.
Cole went on to help the Hammers lift the FA Youth Cup with a 9-0 aggregate win over Coventry before being part of the team that won the Intertoto Cup the following season.
The skilful midfielder was then named club captain at just 21 years of age in January 2003 before winning the Hammer of the Year award for the 2002/03 campaign.
After his departure from West Ham that summer, Cole went on to play for the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Lille, Aston Villa and Coventry City, while enjoying a second spell with the Hammers in the 2013/14 campaign.
All in all, Cole made 716 club appearances, wrapping up his career in the United States with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and also winning 56 England caps which included a superb long-range lobbed goal against Sweden in the 2006 World Cup.
Following Cole’s announcement, a number of Hammers fans took to social media, describing him as one of the most talented players they had seen come through the academy and calling on the club to honour him.
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