Canadian soccer star Dwayne De Rosario announces retirement from playing

Canadian soccer star Dwayne De Rosario is retiring.

The 36-year-old announced his decision in an Instagram post Sunday night.

De Rosario, who most recently played for Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, will take on an ambassador role with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

“Salute to all my fans/family who supported me throughout my #MLS career I am humbled by all your love & support,” De Rosario said in the post. “It was always a dream of mine to represent my family & community #Scarborough #Toronto #Canada to the best of my ability everywhere I played. Know that dreams come true. “

De Rosario won four MLS championships throughout his career and was named the league’s most valuable player in 2011. He is also the all-time leading scorer for TFC with 28 goals.

Some of his best work came at the international stage while playing for Canada. The Toronto native scored 22 goals in international competition and is the national team’s all-time leading scorer.

He also won the Canadian player of the year award four times over the course of his career.

De Rosario started his MLS career in 2001 with the San Jose Earthquakes and later played for Houston Dynamo, the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United.

Both the Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps congratulated De Rosario on his career over Twitter. Montreal Impact captain Patrice Bernier also reached out over Twitter by calling De Rosario a “Canadian legend and great ambassador of the game.”