"Now was really the right time to close that chapter", says Simon Kjær in a larger interview that is set to be published on Friday.
After his contract with AC Milan expired this summer and he stopped playing for the Danish national team,, Simon Kjær has spent a lot of time with his family and settled into his new life and now he feels its finally time to bid his farewell to his active career.
"It's not a decision I made after the summer, but one I've been thinking about since the year before the European Championships, says 35-year-old Kjær, who already started pondering about ending his career in the in the fall of 2023.
"Back then I could see that my time in Milan might be coming to an end. What would happen then?"
Simon Kjær played his last match when Denmark met Norway in a friendly before the EURO 2024, where Kjær came on in the second half.
Kjær has been without a club since he ended his career with AC Milan this summer.
For the last six months it has been very quiet around Kjær and he didn´t feel the need to inform anybody about his future plans until now.
In my head everything ended in Milan. I could not have had a better ending. The farewell I got at San Siro – and that experience... I knew very well there that it was my end.
Simon Kjær says himself he had offers to continue his career "in the five biggest leagues and to play in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League", but nevertheless he chose to end his career.
And his father struggled to understand his decision.
"I had a talk with my mother and father, where my mother understood me on a personal level, and my father said: "You are still better than all the others. Why the hell do you have to stop?"
"I remember that there was one telephone conversation where I spoke to my parents. I gave my father every reason why now was the right time. I think we had that conversation two or three times, and all of a sudden I felt: Okay, now he finally understood. It has been a long process, but it has been reasonably clear to to me the whole time", explains Kjær.
Simon Kjær played his last game for AC Milan on 25 May against Salernitana.
In the Danish national team, he played from 2009 to 2024 and was capped 132 times. He was named captain for Denmark in 2016.