Sagan Tosu on Friday announced that veteran defender Teruaki Kobayashi would be retiring.

The 37-year-old began his career in 2002 with JEF United Chiba and played for Monredio Yamagata, Vissel Kobe and Ventforet Kofu before arriving at Sagan in 2012, making over 200 combined appearances in the J1 and J2 Leagues.

“I always played my hardest every day so that if I had to retire I would do so without regret,” Kobayashi said. 

“I thought about waiting to see if I would get an offer before deciding, but I’ve realised that I don’t have the energy that I used to and I would rather step back than not give my best effort.”