MIDDLESBROUGH favourite George Friend has announced his retirement from playing but has stepped straight into a new role, with the defender becoming director of football at Bristol Rovers.

Friend is a hugely popular figure on Teesside, having played 299 games for Boro during an eight-year spell at the Riverside, which included winning promotion to the Premier League in 2016.

He left in 2020 to join Birmingham and had three years at St Andrew's before leaving for Bristol Rovers last summer.

Friend had taken steps to ready himself for retirement in recent years, and at Birmingham he combined playing with a coaching role. He opted against hanging up the boots last summer but after only playing 12 times for Bristol Rovers so far this season, he's now decided to call it a day and is excited about his next step.

“I’ve learnt something from every single person on my journey," said Friend, who recently launched his own scholarship at Teesside University and still has strong links with Middlesbrough and the area.

"I want to thank all those who helped me achieve more than I could have ever imagined, teammates, staff, managers, owners and fans.

"I now remain determined and ambitious to succeed in my role here at Rovers. It is where I started my footballing journey as a youngster, and it feels very apt that it’s where I will finish playing.”

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In an interview with the Northern Echo at the end of 2022, Friend told of his desire to one day return to Boro.

He said: "I'll always be in contact with Middlesbrough and I'll always want the club to do well, whether I'm part of that or not. I want the area to do well.

“I want to keep all of my options open really, rather than pigeon-hole myself as just a coach or anything else. Of course, it has to be right for Middlesbrough as well if I ever was to return. They have so many talented people already working for them, so it’d have to be right in terms of where I’d fit in. But if everything worked out for both parties, of course it would be great to do that in the future."