Donovan weighs up shock retirement

LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan has admitted that he is considering quitting the game at the end of the 2013 Major League Soccer season.

The 30-year-old has won over 140 caps for the USA and has won two national titles since moving to LA in 2005.

And with his contract set to end at the end of next year, he is considering bringing his illustrious career to an end.

“At the end of this season, I’m going to re-evaluate everything and see how I feel,” he told Goal.com.

“If I want to keep playing, I’ll keep playing. If I don’t want to keep playing, I won’t keep playing.

“If I want to go elsewhere, I’ll try to make that happen. If I want to stay here, I’ll try to make that happen. I don’t know the answer to that right now.”

Retirement would come as a surprise to many, with Donovan seemingly at the peak of his powers, but he remains open to the idea. He revealed that his mentality has changed dramatically from when he was a younger player.

“When I was younger, I was motivated by different things. I wanted to score all the time, I wanted to be famous, I wanted to be popular, I wanted to make money,” he said.

“I wanted to do all of those things, but at the end of it all, those things don’t do a lot for you.”

The US national team will travel to Mexico for a friendly on Wednesday and Donovan was confident that the home fans would show respect for his team-mates due to their passion for the game.

“The Mexican people know this game very well. They have respect for players all around the world who have been successful,” he said.

“They might not like us during the 90 minutes that we’re playing against each other, but they can respect and appreciate us for what we’re doing.”

Donovan added that he would be honoured to be asked to captain his country, but is in no rush to oust current skipper Carlos Bocanegra from his current position.

“I’ve always wanted to be captain of the national team,” he said.

“I think that’s a great honour. But I’m also very appreciative of what Carlos has done over the last few years.”