at the age of 30, just five weeks after he had joined Oviedo; he did not tell the club of his plans beforehand and they only found out through the Spanish tabloids. A statement issued through his spokesman said, "Stan Collymore has decided, after discussions with his family and close friends, to give up playing professional football. He has just turned 30 and believes that the time is right to explore other career opportunities which are available to him." He was offered a chance to return to Southend United and was also approached by Boston United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but never made a return to football, however, he applied but was turned down for the manager's position at Bradford City following the dismissal of Jim Jefferies in December 2001. Before the end of the year, Oviedo had begun court proceedings against Collymore for breach of his contract, unsuccessfully suing him for £7 million. International career After an impressive debut season in the Premier League, Collymore was called up to Terry Venables' England squad for the Umbro Cup in June 1995. He made his début at Wembley Stadium against Japan, partnering Alan Shearer in a 2–1 win. He won his second cap as a 90th minute substitute against Brazil. Collymore made his third and final appearance for England as a substitute in a 4–0 win over Moldova during qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Post-playing career Collymore contributed to his biography Stan: Tackling my demons with Oliver Holt. In 2005, he played the character Kevin Franks in the film Basic Instinct 2 alongside Sharon Stone. On 20 October 2008, Collymore won more than £1.5 million in damages from his financial advisers, for the poor investment advice he had been given since retiring from professional football in 2001. The judge ruled that Collymore had been given advice that was in breach of statutory obligations. Collymore worked as a football pundit and presenter on the TalkSport radio station for eight years between 2008 and 2016. He also worked as a commentator for BT Sport, he was released from his contract in 2015 for criticising their lack of action regarding sectarian chanting during a game between Rangers and Raith Rovers. He writes a column for caughtoffside.com. Return to football with Southend United In April 2021, Collymore wrote to Southend United chairman Ron Martin offering to buy the club from him, and held talks