Former Japan and Southampton forward Tadanari Lee is retiring at the end of the season, Albirex Niigata Singapore announced Thursday.

The 37-year-old scored the winning volley for Japan in the 2011 Asian Cup final against Australia as the Samurai Blue won 1-0 after extra time in Doha.

Lee joined FC Tokyo in 2004 and played for Kashiwa Reysol and Sanfrecce Hiroshima before joining Southampton in January 2012, then in the English second-tier Championship.

He did not make a single Premier League appearance following the Saints' promotion and returned to Japan in 2014, playing for Urawa Reds, Yokohama F Marinos and Kyoto Sanga before leaving for Singapore last year.

Lee scored 71 goals in 301 games in the J-League top division, and twice in 11 matches for Japan.

"I was able to spend a really wonderful footballing career always supported by people," he said in a statement.