By Rob Dugdale

Michael Jordan made his name at Chicago Bulls

After dominating the basketball world for the best part of 20 years as a player, Michael Jordan, of all people, must know that it simply isn't possible to slip quietly into retirement.

His recent trip to Europe proved that even three years after hanging up his own, name-brand sneakers for the last time, Jordan remains sporting royalty, the planet's most recognisable sportsman.

This is Jordan's third stab at retirement. The 1993 and 1999 attempts were no more than sabbaticals from playing the game, but at the age of 43 he knows there is no going back.

"When the season starts you get an itch - but it's not big enough to scratch," he said. "I know deep down that even if I still feel like I can play, physically it's not the same."

"I live vicariously through the Bobcats, my kids, just as a fan of basketball, I love watching the game."

The Charlotte Bobcats are Jordan's latest basketball project. He part-owns the NBA's newest franchise and has a management role with the club.

"What's going to be asked of me is my expertise to help build a team," he said. "I'm part of that because I invested, but don't expect to see me out there on the court."

His last venture in the NBA, as a player/part-owner at Washington, was largely unsuccessful and ended acrimoniously.

Jordan played only twice in major tournaments in Europe. In 1992, he led the Dream Team to Olympic gold in Barcelona. In 1997, he led his Chicago Bulls to the McDonald's title - the world club championship of basketball - in Paris.

Jordan's slam dunks helped create a sporting legend

In Paris, Jordan was a virtual prisoner in his hotel, such was the near-rabid curiosity he stirred up when he walked the streets. That, he says, is getting easier.

"As long as I don't have all these people with me, yeah," he smiled, waving towards his bodyguards.

"I come to Europe a lot more now and I'm able to go out and do things just to enjoy myself and shop.

"You're still going to run into a few people who know the game of basketball and what I meant to the game, but it's not nearly as bad as it once was."

But Jordan's back-catalogue of excellence is unlikely to let him slip away.

Like Pele before him, he is instantly recognisable and universally revered, and he had an almost ambassadorial air about him in London.

"This a great opportunity for me to get over and see some of the kids in Europe and understand their passion for life and for the game of basketball," he said after causing several young jaws to drop by dropping in unannounced on his camp in Brixton.

"I think what's important is to give these kids a chance to experience the love I had for the game of basketball - hopefully it can lead them to a lot of other opportunities. Maybe not in basketball, but in life."