But having been fazed out by Thibaut Courtois, the Czech international seeked football elsewhere, and chose rivals Arsenal.
The 36-year-old then won an FA Cup with Arsenal, incidentally against Chelsea in the final.
Cech released the news on social media.
The statement read: “This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of the season.
Cech announced his retirement on Tuesday (Image: GETTY )
Cech was in fine form the season Arsenal won the FA Cup (Image: GETTY )
Cech won an FA Cup with Arsenal (Image: GETTY )
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“Having played 15 years in the Premier League and won every single trophy possible, I feel I have achieved everything I set out to achieve.
“I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life holds for me off the pitch.”
Jose Mourinho, who won three Premier Leagues with Cech at Chelsea, had only praise for his former player.
"I am honoured to have been the manager that, at such an early age, gave Petr a top Premier League number one shirt,” he said.