George Weah waves to the fans after the match

MARSEILLE, June 11 (SW) – Former World Player of the Year George Weah scored a hat-trick in his parting match held at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday night.

The testimonial featured players from all over the world, including Zenedine Zidane, Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba. Weah played the full 90 minutes of the game, featuring for 45 minutes per side.

The former Liberian international, now 38 years old, wants to leave football and concentrate more on politics. He plans to join the Liberian presidential elections, which are to be held in October.

Weah had one of the most prolific careers of any footballer, playing for 6 different European teams, including AC Milan where he won the FIFA Player of the Year award. He also spent time in France with Marseille, Monaco and PSG before moving on to the Premier League with Chelsea and finally Manchester City. He left the European leagues in 2001 to join Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates.

The match was organised so he could say one final farewell to the sport before moving back to Liberia. The game finished 9-8 as ‘Weah Friends’ beat an All Star XI, with the man himself scoring three times.