FORMER Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has announced his retirement from football.

The 38-year-old Argentine has called time on his career ending his playing time at Club Almagro after over 15 years in the game.

Gutierrez spent seven seasons on Tyneside after signing from Mallorca in 2008 and went on to make 205 appearances and score 12 goals in all competitions.

He was a fans favourite in the North-East for his work ethic and emotional attachment to the fans while his popularity grew in his goal celebrations, where he would sport the Spider-Man mask.

In September 2014, Gutierrez revealed his diagnosis for testicular cancer and took a spell out of the game to undergo treatment.

He returned to the first-team the following year and made his biggest impact in a Newcastle shirt scoring a goal against West Ham in a 2-0 win at St James’ Park to keep them in the Premier League on the final day of the season in 2015.

It would be his final contribution in a Newcastle shirt as the winger went on to since for Deportivo La Coruna.