FORMER Celtic favourite Emilio Izaguirre has retired at the age of 36 and been appointed as sports director of his first club in Honduras.
The left back had two spells with the Hoops and spent a total of eight years with them in total, collecting every major honour - a haul that included seven league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League Cups.
He returned to his homeland three years ago with his first club Motagua, but moved to bitter rivals Marathon after a dispute with their manager.
But he's now returned to Motagua to take up his first off-pitch role as a sports director.
Izaguirre studied virtually to get his certificates for the role at the Johan Cryuff Institute in Barcelona and starts immediately at the club that currently lead the Honduran league.
He said: "I am very excited and happy with this new challenge at a club that I love. We are going to work very hard to continue giving the supporters a lot of joy."
Earlier this year, Izaguirre - who made 269 appearances in total for Celtic and scored five goals - revealed he was considering becoming a pastor.
He said: "Being a pastor is a complex term because it can be misinterpreted. I want to help young people and I want to be a disciple of God
"When I was younger, I lost many friends due to violence in Honduras. You have to realise that life is short and you have to take advantage of it.
"I pray morning, afternoon and night. I thank God for everything - without him I am nothing. I have never had any desire to drink or go to nightclubs. God guided me away from that.
"I don't want to be known as someone who had a great game, I want to be known as someone who is a great person."
Izaguirre is the second former Celtic hero to retire this month after Shunsuke Nakamura finally retired at the age of 44.
