Football's ultimate journeyman retires after 51 transfers throughout remarkable career

Football's most illustrious journeyman, Jefferson Louis, is retiring from the beautiful game after an astounding 51 transfer moves throughout his career. He has declared his retirement aged 46 following his fourth spell with non-league outfit Thame United.

The nomadic striker has racked up so many teams during his 29 years in the sport that he once admitted to forgetting just how many he's turned out for. Louis' adventure began in 1996 with his debut for Risborough Rangers at the age of 17. He has since traversed the lower echelons of English football with appearances for , , , as well as spells at , and .

Key moments in Louis' extensive career include taking on while at Oxford United during an third-round clash in 2003 and earning caps for Dominica. He has now decided to call it quits after his fourth round with Thame United.

In a heartfelt social media post, Louis said: "A young boy that had a dream, and I lived it, but it's now time to call it a day! To go to the age of 46 is something I'm hugely proud of. Massive thanks to my former managers, team-mates and fans that have supported me throughout. Now to give back to the next generation."

Louis played 903 games and found the back of the net 293 times across nearly three action-packed decades on the pitch. In a statement, his most recent club said: "Jefferson spent four years at Thame and finishes his career leaving with three Oxfordshire Senior Cups. A massive congratulations on an amazing career Jeff, from everyone at Thame United and we wish you all the best for the future."

Reflecting on the harsh realities of his career, Louis opened up in a candid 2014 interview. He said "It's like I'm cursed. When I signed for Wrexham, [manager] Dean Saunders said, 'I wish I had you when you was young. You'd be a Premiership player now.'

"For them to say this makes me think, wow. Something went wrong for me, innit? People say he must be a rebel, Jefferson must have been rude. And it's tarnished me. Some managers think I must be a bad apple."

Louis' time in the limelight has also featured controversies, including short term behind bars for dangerous driving when he was 22 and a notorious X-rated interview on Setanta Sports while at Wrexham. When asked why he was substituted during a match against Altrincham, he said: "I was f***ed."

Louis reflected on his time under Scottish football manager Steve Evans at Crawley Town with little fondness, branding it "the worst thing I ever did." He said: "His man-management is terrible. We're playing AFC on the Tuesday. After the game he asked my opinion.

"I said we went a bit too negative. He went mental at me. He started effing and blinding, spitting everywhere. But he asked my opinion."

Despite some challenging moments throughout his career, Louis has embraced teaching children who have been excluded from school, finding joy in this new chapter of his life.

Reflecting positively on his career, he said, "I'm just happy with what I achieved. I played international football. I met my idol Thierry Henry. I've been back page in a newspaper. That's what I try and drill into the kids at school. Don't have no regrets."