Paul Scholes admits Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson pleaded with him to play on.
He announced at the end of May he was hanging up his boots after 676 appearances for United.
Scholes, 36, said: "I've had a lot of good years. I always felt I'd know when the time was right to call it a day and this year I felt it was.
"I made the decision. The manager felt I could do 15 or 20 games next season but I just felt the time was right. You can't go on for ever."
While the only club manager he has known was telling him one thing, Scholes' legs were saying another.
He admitted: "It wasn't hard to turn him down, I know how my body had felt."
