Tim Sparv announced his retirement from football at a press conference in Helsinki on Monday afternoon.

The 34-year-old captain of Finland's men's national football team made a total of 84 appearances for the Huuhkajat, or Eagle Owls, and historically led Finland to its first-ever major finals when the team qualified for the European Championship finals in 2019.

"My time as a professional footballer has now come to an end. I have asked all that I can from my body and gone as far as possible. Now is the time to start a new chapter in my life," he said.

Sparv left his hometown club Oravais, located along Finland's western coastline, in 2003 to join the acclaimed junior academy at English Premier League Southampton.

He made a few first team appearances for the Saints before moving on to Swedish top-flight side Halmstads BK and from there to Groningen in the Netherlands. Sparv also later played in Germany, Denmark and Greece. He ended his club career back in Finland, helping HJK claim their 31st Veikkausliiga title.

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Sparv has also garnered much attention off the field, as he has spoken out on issues such as the problem of racism within the game as well as equal pay for male and female players.

In September he wrote an article for The Player's Tribune, an online sports magazine which publishes first-person stories from professional athletes, calling for more action in support of migrant workers building stadiums for next year's World Cup finals in Qatar.

Sparv also received the 2021 Player Voice award from FIFPro in recognition of his activism and advocacy for human rights.

"I hope to be remembered as a loyal, encouraging and selfless player and as a person," Sparv told the Monday afternoon press conference, adding that his plans for the future are still open.

"At first I'm going to breathe a little and think about what I'd like to do. But I would be surprised if it wasn't related to coaching in some way. Coaching is interesting. Working with young people is perhaps my new passion," he said.