Blues recruit Tomas Bugg has announced his retirement from the AFL effective immediately.

Bugg revealed the decision to his teammates today due to "growing interests outside the game".

“My life away from football has changed in a very short period of time which has been the reason behind this tough decision,” Bugg told carltonfc.com.au.

“The players and staff at Carlton have been so welcoming and supportive to me, I cannot thank them enough. Everyone is working incredibly hard to take the club back to where it needs to be, you see that every day when you walk through the door.”

The 25-year old started his career at GWS in 2012 before joining Melbourne at the end of 2015.

After spending three seasons at the Demons, the midfielder was delisted and joined Carlton via the rookie draft at the end of 2018.

Bugg played 96 games throughout his seven-year career.