Pandev hangs up his boots

"I look back and it still doesn't seem real... It has been an incredible journey," Pandev, 39, wrote on Instagram. "A beautiful chapter ends... I carry with me an incredible baggage of emotions... I am happy to have shared them together."

After being scouted and signed by Inter Milan when he was only 18, Pandev has spent almost all of his footballing days in Italy. Throughout his career, the journeyman striker played for Lazio, Napoli, Galatasaray and Genoa, among other teams, having his last stint with Parma last season in Serie B.

He was part of Inter's historic treble in 2010 when Jose Mourinho's side became the first Italian club to claim the Serie A title, the Italian Cup and the Champions League in the same season. Pandev is hailed a hero at home as the country's most capped player and all-time leading scorer with 38 goals in 122 appearances.