Kashima Antlers announced on the 20th of August that defender Atsuto Uchida is retiring. His contract with Kashima expires on August 31st, 2020, and on the 23rd, Uchida gave to his fans a farewell message after the end of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League match against Gamba Osaka.

Uchida joined Kashima Antlers in 2006 from Shimizu East High School. Having played as a regular since the first season, he contributed to three consecutive J1 title from 2007. In 2008 and 2009, he was selected in the J.League Best Eleven. After having played in Germany for FC Schalke 04 (2010-17) and 1.FC Union Berlin (2017-18), he returned to Kashima in 2018.

In his 15 years career, he played 147 games and scored 3 goals in total in J.League (as of August 20, 2020). He also played 74 games and scored two goals for the Japanese national team, and participated in two World Cups, in 2010 and 2014.