PARIS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid's French playmaker Zinedine Zidane announced Tuesday that he would retire after the World Cup finals in Germany.

    "It's my decision and it's final," the 33-year-old told French television channel Canal+.

    Zidane, who led France to victory in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, has suffered from injuries and inconsistency for the last two seasons and cited Real's poor results as one of the reasons for his decision.

    "I have to listen to my body and I cannot carry on for another year," said the gifted son of Algerian immigrants.

    He joined Real from Juventus with a transferring fee of 66 million US dollars in 2001 and scored a superb winner to earn Real their ninth European Cup in the 2002 final against Bayer Leverkusen. Enditem