Berahino reserved special thanks for his first club, for whom he scored 36 goals in 121 appearances in all competition, including a hat-trick on his first start, as a 20-year-old, against Newport County in the EFL Cup in August 2013.

In a statement, entitled ‘A Letter To The Game’, posted on Instagram, Berahino wrote: “I want to thank West Bromwich Albion for believing in me when I was a boy.

“Those years at the club, the goals, the fans, the moments, they will always be special. There were highs and lows, mistakes and lessons. I learned that the game can lift you up and test you at the same time.

“The time has come to hang up the boots. My body and my heart are ready for the next chapter. I am proud and grateful to now serve the Burundi national team as a coach. Giving back to the country that made me, and helping the next generation, feels right.

“To my family – you have been my strength. To the fans who stayed with me through every chapter – I will never forget your support. This is not goodbye to football. It is simply the end of one story and the beginning of another.

“Football has given me everything. From the streets of Bujumbura to The Hawthorns, from the Premier League to places I never imagined I’d play – this game carried a young refugee kid through life.”