The 40-year-old suffered a recurring shoulder problem and was substituted in the defeat at Portsmouth on Saturday after just 13 minutes.
Tonight (Tuesday) he released a statement, which read: "I have reached this difficult decision after much discussion with my family and those in the game whose views I respect.
"It has become clear to me that this type of injury will not quickly disappear and I think now would be a good time to hang up my boots, rather than at the end of the season as planned. I believe I have had a fantastic career playing at the highest level.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have stood by me and supported my career, especially during the tough times, the players who I will miss for their professionalism and friendship and the fans who have inspired my enthusiasm for the game."
The former Arsenal and Queen's Park Rangers `keeper, who has been awarded the MBE, won seventy-five England caps.
He moved to the City of Manchester Stadium from Arsenal in the summer.
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Probably the right thing to do. But hey! what a supprise with David James coming in.
Whilst I wish him well in his retirement, I wish he'd have retired at the end of last season.
Well done David Seaman. The time is right to stand down and he has done the honourable thing.
He is a credit to his profession. This few months have not been the most illustrious of his career but lets remember all his great performances for Arsenal and England.
I hope all City Fans will join me in wishing him a long and happy retirement
seaman has been a great keeper through out his career, it will be sad to see him go
Maybe everyone's correct in saying David Seaman should've hung his boots up when he was at Arsenal but he done OK for us, shame Keegan can't talk disastrous Distin to hang his up or atleast get someone who will actually show signs of being a Captain then maybe & i mean maybe Distin could concentrate on his game more, never mind we should be OK now we have Calamity James, Div 1 here we come AGAIN ! Come on Kev you're better than this stop losing the plot.
well done david seaman,you have had a great career,and been an ambassador for the sport. you have tried to help city and sadly it hasnt worked out, are you taking over from peter bonnetti,your experiance would be aloss to the club if you do not.ask kk for the goal keeping coach job, or better still ask john wardle can you be assitant manager to stuart pierce.when he takes over the managers job on thursday mornin.after kk gets sacked.,after losing to leicester inthe fa cup leaving city with only relegation to fight.
Thank you, GOD!
It was always going to be a bit of a long shot that he could keep on going but it didn't work out. I didn't like his performances when he first started for us but in the last few games he seemed to be getting back into the swing of things.
After he's great career in football I wish him all the best in what ever he does in the future. Thanks for all the great memories David. Good Luck everyone in football will miss you (but not the ponytail, lol).
seamen came to city to help city reach that number 4,5,6, spot keegan keeps going on about and now were just 3 points above the dreaded drop zone and with a run of dire performances decides to hang up his boots. well thanks david for your efforts and thanks kevin for a very poor choice goalkeeper.will david james be any better?only time will tell.
i would like to keep this section moan free.....so......well done david, thanks for the short time youve been with us and for all the joy youve given me and all other other england fans over the years, you are one of thee very best ever. Im only sad we couldnt all have brought a trophy to you leaving do this season....take care man.
Looking at the share price today, there may not be a club left for James to come to.
Congratulations to a great goalkeeper.
Should have retired from Arsenal whilst still at his top of his career.
Some players just love the game so much they don,t know when to say its the end, but it caught up with David Seamen, his body just could not go on.
Thanks for a gallant effort for CITY.
Happy retirement.
Great time to walk out on the club David..... You got us into this mess with your hopeless displays and then you walk away - injury or no injury you had a contract till the end of the season but no you walked away -something you should of done 8 years ago ..... England would be world cup winners now if you had!!
well, Seaman didn't do all that much for City, but he is a massive figure in the English game and deserves all the respect in the world. good luck to him in his coaching career...will miss that ponytail!
I have enjoyed watching Dave play for many seasons and have seen all of his ups and downs. It is hard to believe that I will never see him play again. I wish him well and would like to thank him for the many years that he has dedicated to the sport.
dave you know you was our champion in heart & spirit a big blue fan the ecky stateside.
Seaman should have called it an end last summer. I hate to admit that KK made an error there.
I think it's hard for a defender to gain confidence when you're not sure about your goalkeeper. So if David James put in some save-hands performances and keep the defenders on their toes (sometimes a big rout can work wonders), the defence might shape up.
I would also like to see James being made captain. Make him important and respected by the defenders. And he's English ...
Good bye Seaman and good luck with what ever you do, but by God you will not be missed by us City fans. You should have retired last season. How many points has you lost for us this season. Oh and can we have the the wages back you have been taking under the pretence of being a top class goalkeeper. Here's to david james and a swift return back up the table.
We'll miss you David, u were a great goalkeeper!!! My best wishes for u in your personal life!!
Im glad seamen as decided to retire instead of struggling to get fit and then being sub goalie until the end of the season - it didn,t work out for both parties and he doesn,t need the money so it was a good time for him to retire
At the time I thought the signing was sound, it bought us twelve months grace to see how Weaver`s injury progressed.
The mistake was to make him automatic number 1 and hasten the departure of Carlo Nash who in my eyes was a perfectly good keeper only suffering from a lack of games.
What we did not expect was the obveous deterioration in seamans performances, his injury on Saturday was caused by his being half hearted in his challenge on Yakubu when he should have emptied man and ball.
Half hearted and overly well paid for what we got sums up David Seamans time at City for me. Dont really care what he did for England or Arsenal.
Fair enough. It's probably better now than later, at least it gives a chance for James to come in and make an impact. I have nightmares about Ellegaard in goal for the rest of the season (not because I think he's poor but just not ready). As for the James signing - they've obviously thought they might as well go for it. Wouldn't be happy if I were a Hammer.
Here's to an absolute legend! Dave really sad when I heard your decision last night but I respect it. My first football memory was in Euro 96 when you saved that Gary Mac penalty since then you have been my best player. An excellent goalkeeper even for the Blues despite what some have said I am proud at what you have done. It wasn't the perfect finish to your fantastic career but showed you could still do it when you saved Di Canio's pen and your last game, last save even was a good one and showed your commitment to the cause when you put the ball ahead of yourself. I will always remember you as being such a wonderful professional and the best England keeper I will ever see. You will be missed but never forgotten. I wish you good luck and hope you will come back and do some coaching with one of your old club or England. Dave one thing is for sure you are and always have been a 100% legend! Take care mate.
On Monday we were all told Seaman's injury was not as bad as it first appeared and he would be back sooner than expected in 4 to 6 weeks rather than 8 weeks. That was after getting Arason on a short term contract as back-up. However, as soon as KK's long term wish goes ahead for James (who would undoubtably remain as No.1 choice), Seaman's injury becomes one that will never really go away so he retires. He didn't want to be on the bench as No.2 behind James and he didn't want a possible relegation on his great CV. So Seaman saw his chance to get out of the firng line behind that defence and KK saw the opportunity to get out of his cock-up in signing Seaman in the first place without having to drop and embarrass his old mate. As for James, he's just another "jobs for the ex Anfield and England boys" signing. He's a 33 year old clown and another one who's only interest is his posing, modelling and stupid hairstyles.
Edski Vega, you really are a balloon aren't you. The signing of Seaman did not work out as people would have liked but to rip him to pieces about retiring is pathetic. I am sure that he has not bailed out, but just felt that he could not do justice to the position anymore with the injuries. To make the comment about England winning the World Cup is quite sad, but typical of the sort you obviously are. In Japan against Brazil, I felt that Englands outfield players not managing a shot against Brazil, when they were down to ten men, had much more of a bearing on the outcome of the game than Seamans error. I suppose you also hung an effigy of Beckham off a lamp post after France 98. Sad sad man.