HEARTS and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon announced his retirement from football today at the age of 43.

Gordon has called time on a 24-year professional career which brought 84 international caps, six league titles, four Scottish Cups — the first of them with his home-town club — five Scottish League Cups and European football.

His career was punctuated by a series of injuries, but the resilience of a man who emerged from the Hearts academy as a youngster and had spells at Sunderland and Celtic before returning to Tynecastle in 2020, was as impressive as his undoubted quality.

Gordon said in a video on his Instagram account: “Everyone has dreams. Mine were probably no different to most kids’, to play for my club and my country, Heart of Midlothian and Scotland.

“Improbable? Perhaps. Impossible? Absolutely not. Hard work, sacrifices, setbacks, step by step dreams become reality, from supporting Hearts to playing for Hearts.

“Years of hard work can never fully prepare you. You want to do yourself proud, you want to do your family proud, you want to do the fans proud.

“I’ve never wanted it to end, but end it must. I have lived my dreams and for that, I am so thankful, thankful for my team-mates and coaches pushing me all the way, thankful for my opponents for spurring me on, thankful for the medical staff who have worked with me through the years, thankful to my loved ones for their support and thankful to the fans for being behind me for 24 years.”

Gordon was a member of the Scotland squad for this summer’s World Cup finals, but did not make an appearance as Nottingham Forest’s Angus Gunn started all three games.