Leonardo announces his retirement in Milan Tuesday. With him is AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani. (AP/PTI)

Milan: AC Milan’s former Brazilian international winger Leonardo has retired and will take on a director’s role at the Serie A club.

“It is a definitive decision,” the player said. “I have decided to end my playing career before the end of the season because I have a lot of work to do off the field which would be impossible to combine with training.”

Leonardo, part of Milan’s title winning side in 1999 and a World Cup winner with Brazil in 1994, came out of retirement to re-join Milan in October, but has been limited to occasional appearances in the low-key Italian Cup.

He will now work as an assistant to Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani and will focus on the club’s community programme Milan Foundation.

“I have never had an assistant because I never met a person with the right qualities to take on such a role,” said Galliani, who runs the club on behalf of Milan president and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

“When I got to know Leonardo well I became aware that he had all the characteristics to take on this job,” added Galliani. Leonardo ended his first spell at Milan in June 2000 after four seasons and returned to Brazil where he played for San Paolo and Flamengo.