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By TARA ANSON-WALSH Published: 05: 22 AEDT, 22 January 2025 | Updated: 09: 10 AEDT, 22 January 2025 18 View comments Former Arsenal legend Jen Beattie has announced her retirement from football, saying ‘I'm nervous, I'm excited but I'm ready for what's next’. The 33-year-old, who joined NWSL side Bay FC from the north London club at the beginning of last year, has decided to hang up her boots after a long and decorated career which saw her win five WSL titles, four FA Cups and four League Cups during two spells at the north London club and Manchester City. Reflecting on her decision to retire, Beattie says: ‘I think it was probably towards the end of last season. I had a two-year contract with Bay FC and California was incredible, but there were no broadcasting studios, and I wasn't able to do anything outside of football. And that made me realise that I was finding more enjoyment with other things. ‘Leaving Arsenal at any point was always going to be hard and it's been on my mind for a while, and I guess not being at my best anymore, I just felt like it was the right time to stop. ‘Knowing I had the cushion of the extra year made me have more peace with it because I know I still could have kept playing and kept going, but it was very much my decision. ‘To be able to have that control was really nice. Not many players have that, and I feel very lucky. I felt at ease, I felt calm and obviously I talked it through with friends and family. ’ Former Arsenal legend Jen Beattie has announced her retirement from football at the age of 33 The centre back first joined the north London club in 2009, returning to the Emirated ten years later after stints at Montpellier, Manchester City and Melbourne City The Glasgow-born star ended her career at NSWL side Bay FC (pictured in May of last year) The Glaswegian centre-back broke into senior football as a 15-year-old with Scottish Women’s Premier League side Queen’s Park FC Ladies. From there she spent a brief time at Celtic before joining Arsenal Ladies, as it was then known, in 2009. During her first stint at Arsenal she won one league title, two FA Cups and two League Cups before moving on to Montpellier, Manchester City and Melbourne City. Beattie returned to Arsenal in 2019 where she won the WSL and League Cup title. She amassed 166 appearances and scored 33 goals in total for the Gunners. A firm fan-favourite, Beattie describes how selling out the Emirates for the first time in May 2023 during their Champions League game against Wolfsburg — the 60, 063 attendance being a then-record for a domestic club game — is still the proudest moment of her career. ‘I know we didn't get the result but that Champions League semi-final at the Emirates, scoring in front of a sold-out crowd, is everything I've ever dreamed of about playing football, ’ she says. ‘We didn't make the final that year, but it just felt such a huge moment for the club and to be a part of it is what every player in the game, let alone a female dreams of. ’ Beattie was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2020 but continued to play for club and country, all while undergoing radiotherapy and encouraging others to get screened. After becoming cancer-free, Beattie was presented with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award – which recognises people who have achieved success in the face of adversity – as well as an MBE for services to football and charity. ‘Obviously going through something physical that was health related, it definitely changed a lot of parts about my career but I think at the same time it made me enjoy it even more because I'd gone through something so difficult and it brought me closer to my teammates, ’ she says. ‘It made me appreciate my job even more and it got me working for something more than football, and I massively valued that. It was the worst and the hardest thing, but so many positives came off the back of it. Beattie named her most memorable moment as Arsenal's Champions League tie against Wolfsburg two years ago She previously retired from international football and representing Scotland in January 2023 ‘From working with charities and connecting with communities that are going through really difficult things as well, I will never regret speaking out about that and being as honest as I could. ’ Her honesty and sense of humour made Beattie incredibly popular amongst her teammates, coaches and of course, the fans. It’s these qualities more than anything that she wants people to remember about her career. ‘I'd so much rather people remember me for who I was as a teammate and who I am as a person rather than who I was as a footballer, ’ she says. ‘I hope they still think I was decent. But I've always been very conscious of that. I'd rather someone – whether they played with me for a year or five years or my entire Scotland career – they remember me for who I am (as a person). So it means a lot. ’ And as for Beattie, how will she look back on her football days? ‘I think bottom line, when I look back at everything, my favourite thing of all is how fun it was. There were some training sessions where we'd be warming up and I would joke to my teammates that this is the best job in the world and it absolutely is. ‘I've loved every second of it, even all the hard stuff. I would do it all again, all the injuries. I would do every single aspect of it. I had so much fun. The day-to-day stuff, the big games. Everything. It was just so enjoyable, and I feel so lucky to have got friends for life off the back of it as well. ’ Beattie retired from international football in January 2023, after making 143 appearances and scoring 24 goals for Scotland. The daughter of former Scotland and British Lions rugby union player John Beattie, representing her country at the World Cup is in close contention to that memorable day at the Emirates. ‘My proudest Scotland moment is scoring at the World Cup against Argentina, again, in a pretty crazy game, but I did it on the same pitch that my dad scored a try for Scotland and that will always be such a huge memory for me, ’ she says. The 33-year-old followed in the footsteps of her father representing her country and making 143 appearances Beattie is now set to go into broadcasting, which gives her the same feeling of adrenaline as competing on the pitch She also credits her father with helping her realise that broadcasting was the next step she wanted to take. ‘I grew up watching my dad do it for rugby, and I always thought that was really cool. I was unsure whether I would be the cliché daughter who would try and follow in his footsteps, but it turned out that’s exactly what I wanted to do. And ironically, so does my brother. ‘I think it's amazing the coverage that the women's game gets, and I want to be a part of that growth and continue it. It keeps you close to football, but it's also the adrenaline of that live moment – you feel your heart pumping right before you go on air. ‘And that's the closest thing I'll ever get to playing 90 minutes of football in front of a sold-out crowd. So, maybe I’m still chasing the adrenaline! ’ Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group