Former Norwich City midfielder Julien Brellier has retired from professional football at the age of 28.

The Frenchman had been playing part-time in his native country's amateur leagues after failing to find another club since leaving Swiss outfit FC Sion.

Brellier – signed by Peter Grant from Hearts in 2007 – made just 11 senior appearances for the Canaries before being released by Glenn Roeder but enjoyed a successful stint back at Tynecastle, where he won the Scottish Cup and reached the qualifying rounds of the Champions League.

'After Sion, I had some National (French third division) clubs interested so there was a chance to go there,' he said. 'Maybe 50pc of the teams are professional in that league and 50pc are not. It was not a good thing for me to go there so I decided to stop playing. I had nothing from the first or second division and my agent told me it was very hard trying to find a club.

'It's just life. I had to stop because life goes on. I have a family and it's better for my head to stop professional football. The wait was too long.'

Brellier insists he has no regrets over a professional career that started at Montpellier and also brought spells in Italy with Inter Milan and Venezia.

'I feel football has changed and I don't think it's my world for now,' he said. 'I don't regret anything. I had a very good time everywhere I went and I met some very good people.'