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Stiliyan Petrov rules out playing return after no new Aston Villa deal offered

Stiliyan Petrov has said he will not return to football after Aston Villa opted not to give him a new deal.

Petrov, who retired from playing after contracting leukaemia in 2013, had been training with Villa at their preseason camp in Austria as he targeted a return.

But the 37-year-old former Bulgaria and Villa captain was not given a playing deal, although he was offered another role with the club.

He told Kanal 3 television in Bulgaria: "There will be no comebacks. My return to professional football has failed, but I will explain the reasons at a later stage.