Football fans may be shedding tears the size of pineapple chunks this morning after a world-famous commentator announced his retirement after a 23-year career.
Ray Hudson, the former Newcastle United midfielder and fixture of American soccer media, will be stepping away from the microphone.
‘Very sad; today I retire from @CBSSports & @SiriusXMFC. Thankyou all for sharing so many magesteeerial memories,wherin the beautiful game & players,beguiled & bewildered us,’ Hudson posted to his account on X.
‘Sincere thanks to everyone I worked with;you inspired me. To everyone out there, I love you & I’ll miss you.’
Hudson added to The Athletic: ‘“It is the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my professional life. This was really hard, and there are private reasons for it in some ways that I’d rather not talk about.
‘Walking away from something that you love so much it’s heartbreaking. But I know this is the right thing for Joan (his wife) and I. The time to step away is now, but I will say I did change my mind so many times over the last few months.’
Iconic soccer voice Ray Hudson has announced his retirement from sports broadcasting
Hudson spent over two decades calling matches and is best known for his La Liga coverage
He had spent the last few years on Sirius XM Radio as the morning host of ‘The Football Show’ on the satellite radio network’s soccer channel – and had been a part of CBS Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League since 2022.
The native of Gateshead, England made 25 appearances for the Magpies from 1974-77 – spending loan spells with Greenock Morton and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL.
He would then make a permanent move to Fort Lauderdale the following summer, making 151 appearances for the club during their time in Florida. Following a brief stint with German side Union Solingen, he would re-join the Strikers, who had made a move to Minnesota.
He would bounce around North America for the rest of his career – playing with the Strikers’ indoor team as well as with Canadian side the Edmonton Brick Men, the reincarnation of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. His final match came in 1991.
Hudson got his first action as a commentator with MLS expansion side the Miami Fusion before stunningly being named head coach in the middle of the 2000 season.
After getting sacked in 2001, Hudson would work color commentary for ESPN during its coverage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Hudson would go on to become a coach at DC United for two seasons before moving to commentary full time after being sacked in 2004.
From there, Hudson would begin commentating for GolTV before later working for BeIN Sports, Inter Miami, and later CBS.
Hudson played nearly two decades in the US and coached two MLS sides in the early 2000s
Hudson gained notoriety for his eccentric commentating style – which drew both praise and admonition from fans.
His time with BeIn Sport allowed him to soundtrack American La Liga coverage in the early-2010s – with some of his best work coming from calling goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo and his self-professed ‘muse’, Lionel Messi.
Perhaps fittingly, the final match he called for CBS Sports was the enthralling 7-6 aggregate victory for Inter Milan over Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals this season.
