The 37-year-old arrived in New Zealand after playing over 450 games in England – including a one-season stint in the Premier League with Barnsley – and has enjoyed a successful few seasons with Waitakere, helping them to three championship titles.
But he says age has finally caught up with him and that it is time to make way for those with fresher legs.
“In the Champions League, a team needs players who are younger and more athletic than me and, to be honest, there were times during the last season when I felt old.”
The diminutive midfielder, whose employers during 15 years as a professional also included Blackpool, Macclesfield Town and Wycombe Wanderers, has enjoyed his time in Auckland since seeking a change of scene with his young family and will be staying put.
“It has been absolutely fabulous,” he says.
“I have been to countries I didn’t even know existed until I got here. It has been great to go to places like Tahiti, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. I never dreamed I would get such an opportunity.”
Bullock, who runs a lawn mowing franchise away from football, says his family has settled well down under and that his daughters, aged nine and seven, have fallen in love with New Zealand.
“My younger daughter has lived longer in New Zealand than England. We love it here and there are certainly no plans to go back.”
The retirement of the former England U-21 international will leave a void in the heart of Waitakere’s engine room, a situation not helped by the departure of fellow midfielder Chris Bale, last season’s ASB Premiership player of the year, to fierce rivals Auckland City.
There has also been a change at the helm, with coach Neil Emblen being replaced in the hot seat by Paul Marshall.
The new boss has already identified player recruitment as his immediate concern and finding replacements for Bullock and Bale is likely to be at the top of his to-do list.

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