South Sydney Rabbitohs and Queensland captain Greg Inglis has announced his immediate retirement, closing the curtain on a glittering career.

Plagued by an ongoing shoulder injury, rugby league great Inglis made the announcement on Monday after 263 NRL games, a premiership, 32 Origins and 39 international appearances for Australia.

The 32-year-old – who planned to retire at the end of the 2020 season – played in South Sydney's opening two games of the season but missed the last three amid doubts over his future.

"I'm not looking at today's announcement as the end of my career. I'm looking at it as the start of my next one," Inglis said.

"I've been very fortunate to have had the playing career I have had, and to have played in some awesome teams with great team-mates and under some great coaches. I want to thank them all for everything they have done for me and my family.

"This isn't a decision I've taken lightly and over the last week, spending time with family and moving out of the spotlight, it has given me some clarity about the way forward for me and my family.

"People have always told me you'll know when it's time to retire from playing, and I know within myself that that time is now.

"My mind and body are telling me it's time to move on to the next part of my career in this great sport and I'm really excited about making that transition and working with people like Wayne [Head Coach Wayne Bennett], Richo [General Manager of Football Shane Richardson], Blake [CEO Blake Solly] and Alisha [General Manager of Souths Cares Alisha Parker-Elrez] on making this club the best they can be.

"I feel I have something to offer in coaching and I'm very keen to learn more from Wayne and the other coaches, and to work closely with the young players we have coming up through the grades here at the Rabbitohs. I feel that my experiences over the past 15 years will be of value to them and I want to pass those on."

Inglis burst onto the scene with Melbourne Storm in 2005 and he went on to make 117 appearances, winning two premierships which were later stripped due to the club's salary-cap breaches.

He moved to the Rabbitohs in 2011, where he scored 71 tries in 146 games and helped South Sydney to the 2014 premiership.

Inglis – who was also part of Australia's Rugby League World Cup-winning team in 2013 – continued: "I want to thank everyone that has helped me throughout my career since I started playing as a kid, right through to representing my State and Country and the success my teams have had in winning premierships.

"I want to thank my family in particular and I look forward to spending more quality time with my kids. I owe everything to Rugby League and for that I will forever be grateful, and I feel as though I have given everything I've had to the game on the field. Now it’s time to give more back off the field.

"It's been a great ride so far, and starting today, I can't wait to get started on this next part of the journey."