Drinkwater has been without a club since his Chelsea contract expired in the summer of 2022.
The Manchester United youth product made just 22 appearances after joining Chelsea from Leicester for £35m in the summer of 2017 and spent the last few years at the likes of Aston Villa, Burnley, Kasimpasa and Reading.
Drinkwater was a key part of the Leicester City side that won an unlikely Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri in the 2015/2016 season.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, he said: “It’s been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now. I think I’ve been in limbo for too long. I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued. I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?
“It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be an easy thing. If I was playing week in, week out and I had to say I’ve got to stop, maybe through injury or through just age, not being able to get about the pitch like I’d like to, I think it would be trickier.”
Drinkwater won three caps for the England national team.
