I will have some time off, do some media works, and I think, for 17 years, I have given everything I could.
— Karen Carney
I wanted to finish at the top of the game and on my own terms. I thought it was the perfect time at the World Cup and to go out at Chelsea. Chelsea and England were immense in how they have supported me in that transition.
When you hit 30, people have got this perception that you're past it, and I really disagree with that.
I never looked at the bigger picture. I was just so passionate about football; I just wanted an opportunity to play with no barriers and no stigma.
I don't want the 'supersub' label or anything like that. I just want to come on and express myself and play the best I can.
I went to university - I never would have gone to university through football. I've got a degree. I've got a master's. I've met some amazing people, I've lived my dream. I've picked up so many skill sets that I never would have.
I am who I am. I'm from Birmingham. My mum works at Sainsbury's. My dad is a fire-fighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I haven't made a lot of money, but I'm equally comfortable. I have food, clothes on my back, and my family.
I am very comfortable in my own skin.
It's OK when you are struggling to reach out for help.
More teams are trying to go full-time, so it gives everyone the best chance possible to be the best footballer they can be, which makes it more appealing to fans, because we're better as we focus solely on the game as our job.
I look at our sport as the same as tennis. Male and female tennis is very, very different. The men's is more quick and powerful, and the women's is more about finesse and has more rallies - and that's the same with men's and women's football.
I think obviously the media need to help promote the game and make it bigger so the younger girls have women role models to look up to and try and aspire to instead of just male footballers.
I've given my heart and soul to club and country; there's nothing more I can physically or mentally give. I have no regrets.
When I was 11, I told my mum I would play for England - and by 17, I'd done it.
I wasn't good at school, so I wouldn't have gone to university. I'm so grateful for football, and I don't know where I would be without it, but I know I would have worked hard.
When my mum was ill, I always thought the club paid for me to fly back and visit her, and then, only years down the line, I found out it was Emma, so she did some stuff for me that was personal that I'll truly never forget, so I have got an alliance to Emma Hayes.
When you have given all you can and no more, then you should just stop. I am an all-in type of person, so I will enjoy rest and family time.
I would love to do skiing and go with my mates and have a chalet, have a drink, have a good time, and just switch off. Or maybe a marathon or something crazy like that.
You've got to dig deep to get from a semi-final to a final.
It is a bit surreal for me because I have been a lifelong Birmingham fan, so to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is a massive honour.
I'd rather have one gold medal and 10 caps than 200 caps and no gold.
I don't say what I feel. I say what was said to me because my senior professionals were amazing to me. If I can do anything similar to the young pups, I will do that. My senior pros protected me and looked after me and made me feel amazing.
I never had any expectations. When I was 11, I just wanted to play for England. I didn't know when it would happen, how it would happen. I picked that dream, and I wanted that dream.
I've been vegan for over a year now, about 15 months. I changed to the vegan diet, and I feel fabulous; it's great. I wish I'd done it earlier.
Every little girl's dream, every little boy's dream is to play at Wembley, so for a girl to do it and collect the 100th cap there was just a massive achievement. So, I think that's when it really hit me.
Whenever you enjoy it, you always play the best football.
Any person who has reached an elite level has had to start somewhere, and it's all from grass-roots level.
Just playing with the lads in school, really, and having a kick around, and I ended up at a Sunday club just for girls, and there was only about 15- 20 girls there, and I just moved on to a club from there.
My mind still wants to do everything; my body can't anymore. My mind would want to continue until I was 100.
Moving forward, I don't really know what I want to do. There is an opportunity within the media for me, but I would like to give back to football in some way if I'm able to help.
After the World Cup, it was so intense, and a lot of pressure was put on me - unfairly, I thought, at times - and it is always a worry, but you get older, you get a better support team, and I haven't hidden the fact about my past, and I never will because I'm not ashamed of it.
I won the quadruple at 18 with Arsenal, so I didn't really know what I was chasing after the World Cup, and I was a bit lost, so I didn't know whether to just be content at home and just play my football or go for another challenge.
I looked at it, and it was like, 'Can I push and make the Olympic squad?' It is tough going from 18 players, including Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. I thought that might be a push too far for me. I had no Champions League with Chelsea. I lost my motivation.
I've travelled the world with football, but probably in a privileged way. We've travelled, and travelling means going from an airport to the pitch to the hotel. I haven't really seen or explored things.
A woman in my local area decided to put on an opportunity for girls to come and play football for £2 each Sunday. That's how I started.
When I was growing up, some of the lads weren't very nice about me playing.
My first major championships was in 2005, which makes me feel ancient. I'm really proud of playing in all the tournaments, yet I can have all the caps in the world, but there's no point if you don't have a gold medal.
I don't know why I bring that calmness, and I'm not really aware of it, to be honest. I just come on, smile, and enjoy the moment. If that brings calmness, then great.
I see things differently, feel things differently. That's how I've always been, and that's why I'm different to everyone else. Information: simple. Detail: simple. I just aim to play as if it was five-a-side as an 11-year-old kid. That's how I see it because that's how it is.
I do my research the same as everyone else - I watch games relentlessly and try to be the best that I can be. It should be irrelevant whether I'm male or female, so as long as I work hard and try my best at it, then more we keep speaking about it, then we can eradicate it from the game.
We just want the sport to be taken seriously and given the best possible chance for current and future players to be the best they can.
Men's is at a fast pace and focused on strength, whereas the women's is full of finesse and more skilful - and I think that's what the public have to associate with; male and female football is very different.
Of course I support England - and I follow Birmingham. I am an avid football fan, and obviously, I have a connection with Arsenal, so I like to watch them, too. I think anyone who is English follows the men's team and wants them to do well, and I'm an avid follower of any football, really.
To have played for England was my ultimate ambition, and to do so at four World Cups and represent Team GB at a home Olympics was beyond the wildest dreams I had when first starting out.
On the pitch, my first tournament, the European Championship in England in 2005, was special.
In the nicest possible way, my first job was at Sainsbury's - my mum worked there, and I was a bag packer.
I have a saying: be the difference with the things that make you different.
