The Republic of Ireland international, released by West Brom this summer, made 226 appearances for the Addicks, scoring 23 goals, before a disastrous £1m move to Aston Villa in August 2002.
The 31-year-old told the club's official website: "Maybe later on in life I'd like to return to Charlton as a coach.
"I've got a lot of affection for this club, I had six great years here and if I could have changed anything it probably would've been to have stayed a bit longer. But everything went perfect for me when I was here."
He added: "The move happened all of a sudden. I don't really like talking about it. That's all in the past now anyway, everything's done and dusted, but it did hurt a little bit.
"But what we achieved as a team in those six years speaks for itself - winning the play-off final, winning Division One and earning promotion to the Premier League. I think I did my job while I was here."