Liverpool star sends touching message as ex-team-mate retires for heartbreaking reason

Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has sent his best wishes to Jaume Domenech after his former Valencia team-mate announced his retirement. Domenech has called time on his career as a professional goalkeeper at the age of 34 in order to spend more time with his daughter, who has health problems.

The Spaniard made 122 appearances for Valencia and worked alongside Mamardashvili, who was the No.1 keeper at the club for the past four years. The Georgia international left Valencia to join Liverpool this summer in a £29million transfer, but still has close connections at the club.

Domenech was released by Valencia at the end of last season and, announcing his retirement on Instagram, wrote: "Today, I want to share a deeply considered decision with all of you: I have decided to end my career as a professional football player.

"First, I believe it's only right to thank all the clubs that contacted me this summer and formally showed their interest in having me be a part of their projects, and for their patience in waiting for me to make a final decision.

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"Football is my life, my passion, but things don't always happen the way you'd like. I am hanging up my boots due to a health situation with one of my loved ones. My heart and the values that have shaped me as a person tell me that I need to be by their side. I feel that I must be close to my family now, not far away."

He added: “The journey as a professional footballer has been thrilling and ends today for a greater cause, but I also want to say that I am not saying goodbye to football. I am simply closing one chapter to open another. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your love and understanding."

Mamardashvili replied: "You are an example to everyone Jau!! Best of luck." Former Valencia and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Carlos Soler wrote: "Those of us who have shared the locker room with you know everything. We love you very much, friend! This new stage is going to be spectacular, I'm sure. Thank you for everything."

Domenech went into further details in a subsequent interview. “It’s a matter of my daughter,” he said on VCF Media Radio. “Since she was born, she has had a health situation that has evolved very well, and in recent years, with my injuries, I haven’t had the participation I would have liked on the field.

“As a family, we considered playing a year away from home. But during the summer, a particular situation arose with my daughter, and then it didn’t make sense to live an experience away from them.

“I’m a father who likes to be with his family, and I thought it was the right moment to stop and take care of my own. It’s a situation that has come to me now, and it must be faced with responsibility and willingness.”

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