Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo 'Memo' Ochoa ended his football career on Tuesday at the age of 41, days after participating in the World Cup for the sixth time, a record he shares with Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine Lionel Messi.

Unlike Ronaldo and Messi, who played in all of their teams' matches in the last World Cup, Ochoa only entered in the final minutes of Mexico's already-qualified match against Czech Republic in the third and final group stage match, where coach Javier Aguirre brought him on in the 78th minute amid cheers from Mexican fans at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Ochoa had also been called up for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but did not play any matches in the tournament.

'Memo' ended his international career, which began in 2005, after playing 154 matches for 'El Tri'.

Ochoa said in a message on social media: 'I gave everything I had, with my clubs and with the national team, and today I put my gloves aside,' announcing the end of a career that spanned nine teams in seven countries.

The son of Guadalajara began his career in Mexico in 2004, and had spells in France (Ajaccio), Spain, Belgium, Italy and Portugal.

Ochoa was known for his toughness on the goal line thanks to his saves with amazing reflexes, and became famous during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when he put on an unforgettable performance against the host nation in the group stage that ended in a goalless draw (0-0).

In 2018, he further cemented his legend with another exceptional performance against Germany, who lost to Mexico (1-0).