Olympic champion Liu Xiang has completed his post-retirement settlement with Shanghai sports authorities after choosing self-employment, the Shanghai sports bureau said on Thursday.

According to a statement released by the bureau, Liu submitted an application for self-employment and signed the relevant agreement on Sept 1. His personnel relationship procedures were largely completed by Monday, and he was granted economic compensation for self-employment in accordance with regulations.

Liu said in a social media post earlier Thursday that he had received 494,000 yuan ($74,000) as a buyout payment. "On Sept 1, I had already completed the buyout and received 494,000 yuan in buyout compensation," Liu said. "From now on, I will have no further association with the sports bureau."

The 43-year-old former hurdler also said he had received a total of 982,935 yuan in salary and subsidies from April 7, 2015, when he announced his retirement, to the completion of the buyout. He said he donated the entire amount on Sept 2 to the China Charity Federation for disaster relief following mudslides in the Xizang autonomous region.

The Shanghai sports bureau said that following in-depth communication with Liu, it had offered several organizational placement options, including a leadership position at an athletics center, a technical director role and positions at sports universities.

Liu ultimately chose self-employment, the bureau said, adding that it fully respected his decision.

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The latest developments follow a public discussion that began on Aug 26, when Liu posted a photo commemorating his victory at the 2004 Athens Olympics and said he had been asked to choose between becoming a coach and accepting a buyout.

The post quickly drew widespread attention, with discussion extending beyond Liu's individual circumstances to the broader issue of how retired athletes transition into new careers.  

The Shanghai sports bureau responded that Liu was an outstanding athlete who had made significant contributions to Shanghai's sports development, and that his post-retirement arrangement would be handled in accordance with relevant national and municipal regulations.  

In his latest post, Liu also addressed what he described as the issue of being "on the payroll but not assigned a formal position" since his retirement.  

"I respect the rules and accept that there may have been oversights, but rules should never be an excuse," Liu said, questioning why the issue had taken 11 years to address.  

He also called for more flexible and diverse arrangements for retired athletes, saying that athletes devote their youth and health to competitive sports and that many may carry lasting injuries from their sporting careers.  

The Shanghai sports bureau said that athlete resettlement in the city is conducted under national and municipal policies governing personnel management at public institutions and the resettlement of retired athletes. Organizational placement and self-employment are the two policy-prescribed pathways, it said.  

Over the past decade, the city has arranged post-retirement placements for nearly 1,000 athletes, including more than 10 Olympic and world champions, according to the bureau.

The bureau said it would continue to support retired athletes, optimize its resettlement policies and improve support systems for athletes transitioning to new careers.

Liu won the men's 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics in 12.91 seconds, becoming the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in a men's track event. He went on to win the world title in 2007 and set a world record of 12.88 seconds in 2006.