The degree of skills and intelligence with which some plied their craft as a football player made them truly amazing athletes, one who plays the game of soccer to the pinnacle. But when injuries or personal issues come knocking on the doors and prevented players from fulfilling their vast potential, they’re left with no choice than to throw in the towel and retired early from a profession they love wholeheartedly.
Sometimes the average age for the retirement of a professional footballer is around 35. Meanwhile, with the ways some players take good care of themselves, just like we’ve seen with ‘Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ many football stars have actually managed to play professionally beyond that age.
However, some are not that blessed with the longevity of the aforementioned players which in the end made them retire in their mid 30’s and sometimes earlier than that because of the pressure of the game and injuries which takes a toll at some point in time their career.
During a period of bad injuries, some players do manage to push on, perhaps they could actually come out of the injury and pick up from where they left their career before injuries set in. More often than not when they found out that injuries or personal issues like health challenges which they’re battling won’t enable them to get back into the top shape needed for them to survive as a professional footballer, they retire early.
Today, we will look at football stars who have gone into early retirement due to injuries, health challenges, or some other things.
Andrea Schurrle – (Germany, Retired Age 29) & Sebastian Deisler – (Germany, Retired Age 27)
For every football enthusiasts who saw the formal Borrusia Dortmund star graced the pitch at the World Cup in 2014, could actually say one or two things about the German. Although Schurrle may not be a player with a lot of skill set like the Neymar of this world, he’s definitely one of the players that is very efficient on the field of play and in front of goal.
Schurrle played an important role in the Die Mannschaft quest in winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where he scored two goals in the famous 7-1 massacre in the semi-final over the host country in front of their home fans.
The German forward didn’t only don the Die Mannschaft white and black jersey, he also played for some of the finest clubs in Europe starting from his home country Germany, where he played with Bayern Leverkusen, Mainz, Wolfsburg, and Dortmund, he also had a stint with Chelsea, loan spell with Fulham from his parent club in Germany before eventually moving to Russia with Spartak Moscow.
When talking about some of the fittest players, the German forward cannot lay claim to that assertion, due to his track record of injuries which in one way or the other has really affected his career, maybe all of that cumulated into his decision to early retirement from football at age 29. The age expected of a footballer to be at his peak, having described some of his struggles with emotional well-being, he canceled the remainder of his contract with Dortmund and retired from the game last month.
- Sebastian Deisler
Even if every football team in the whole of Europe doesn’t know the kind of quality Deisler possesses, Die Mannschaft old adversaries the ‘Three Lions‘ of England can attest to his quality, which they saw a bit of when England traveled to Germany to face the German national team in a World Cup qualifying match. Within six minutes into the game, the former Hertha Berlin midfielder came to fore, when he conjured a sublime pass into the defense of England which was nodded down by Oliver Neuville for the lanky Carsten Jancker to put Germany ahead in the match which they eventually lost.
“I no longer have any real faith in my knee, it’s been an ordeal, I can no longer play with the right level of enjoyment and I don’t do anything by halves”.
This statement by Deisler reflects and depicts how well he fought hard against physical, mental injuries, and rejection by the people close to him, all of this put together were the reason why the talented midfielder called it quit early in football at the age 27 when he announced his retirement from the game.
The sad tale of his unfulfilled glimpses of talent which he showed the whole of Germany right from his tender age still baffles some of Die Mannschaft legends who saw him play, such as Frank Beckenbauer and Lothar Mattheus. Despite making more than 50 appearances for the Bavarian, his knee couldn’t take him far in the game of football in other to show the world his bundle of talent, as such he was forced to early retirement in 2007 due to the terrible reoccurring knee injury, a decision that hit the football world like an electric shock.
Jamie Carragher – (England, Retired Age 29) & Alan Shearer (England, Retired Age 29)
Jamie Carragher may not be in the mold of defenders like Paolo Maldini, Alexandro Nesta, Jaap Stam in terms of quality and defensive skill set, but the Liverpool legend is also one of best if not the finest in his days. Carragher spent over 17 years donning the Liverpool jersey which made him one of the revered players in the history of Liverpool and a one-club man with over 750 appearances for the Kop.
He won the Champions League final in 2005, a match the media term the Istanbul Miracle, where Liverpool defeated Italian giant AC Milan in an unexpected fashion. Carragher international career wasn’t really a fantastic one, as he only made do with few appearances for the Three Lions, he announced his retirement at the age 29 when he’s expected to be hitting the peak of his career due to frustration and lack of playing time under Steve McClaren.
- Alan Shearer
Another great legend of the round leather game who hung the boot early is the Newcastle legend Alan Shearer, who called it quit at age 29. The prolific goalscorer retired from the game in 2000 following the Three Lions disastrous performance at the Euros and some couple of bad injuries which he already hinted in the build-up to the Euros.
Shearer’s career with the English national team lasted much longer and produced great moments likewise with his club career at Blackburn and Newcastle United where he’s well respected and admired. He had over 63 appearances for England and scored 30 goals in his international career with the Three Lions.
Carlos Roa – (Argentina, Retired Age 29) & Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan, Retired Age 29)
Carlos Roa will always be remembered for his excellent and mouthwatering performances in between the stick for Argentina at the 1998 World Cup in France, specifically in the penalty shootout against England in the knockout phase where he played a vital role in helping the Albiceleste to qualified to the next face of the competition.
Every professional footballer always has their reasons when they feel or choose to draw the curtain on their career, to some it could be old age which is considered a ripe age for retirement, injury, health challenges, or a desire to spend quality time with their family.
But in Roa’s case, he decided to draw the curtain on his career in his prime because he was convinced that the world was going to end at the very moment the new millennium started, weird right? Before his retirement, he helped Real Mallorca in winning the Supercup and reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, after announcing his retirement in 1999 he focused on his religion as he awaits the imminent end of the world.
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- Hidetoshi Nakata
One of Asian most revered and renowned football star Nakata draws the curtain on his career at the age where he’s expected to be knocking on the peak of the game. The Japanese legend revealed that he choose to retire from the game because he feels day after day he realized that football has become a big business, and according to Nakata
“I could feel that the team was playing just for money and not for the sake of having fun, I always felt that a team was like a big family, but it’s stopped being like that, I was sad that’s why I stopped at only 29”.
The former Perugia, Roma, Bologna, and Parma player call it quit on his professional career despite still having a year left on his contract with Fiorentina, admitting specifically that he fell out of love with the game in 2006. Before Nakata retired he was a key figure for both country and the clubs he donned their jerseys, he represented for the ‘Samurai Blue’ 77 times, while his club’s appearances come with over 358 games, 53 goals and a total of 5 trophies.
Paul Scholes – (England, Retired Age 29) & Ryan Mason – (England, Retired Age 27)
“I do regret leaving England so soon“. Those were the words of Paul Scholes when talking to the media, he even went further in his statement that he retired too early from the national team before focusing deeply on his United career. The former Manchester United midfield maestro throws in the towel on his international career in 2004 at the age that is considered not too ripe to call it a day after the Three Lions were dumped out of the Euros by Portugal.
The ‘English Xavi’ as some football fans usually called him, said his form in the last 20 or 30 caps for the Three Lions wasn’t good enough. During this period former Chelsea legend Frank Lampard and now Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard were in great form, as he had to compete with the duo at the middle. And more often Scholes had to play from the wing, the former Manchester United midfielder said he retired due to personal choice and not because he wasn’t playing centrally.
- Ryan Mason
January 2017 will always be a bad day to remember for Ryan Mason anytime he looked back on his professional career as a footballer. The Hull midfielder Ryan was forced to retire due to a head injury suffered in January 2017. Mason suffered a fractured skull in a collision with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill during a game at Stamford Bridge.
Mason promising career came to an early, and after undergoing a successful operation on his fractured skull, he went through rehabilitation in the whole of 2017, and in early 2018 it was confirmed that due to risks associated with the extent of his injury, Mason had to retire from professional football at age 27, which is the right age for a professional footballer to blossom into the peak of their career.
David Bentley – (England, Retired Age 29) & Ruben De La Red – (Spain, Retired Age 25) George Best (England, Retired 26)
As a football devotee, if you saw Bentley donned the jersey of Blackburn Rovers in 2012, you could easily say that he was a talented footballer that would go on to play for a top team. As such he joined Tottenham where he failed to live up to the form that saw the London side signed him for £17 million, and he eventually lost his place in the squad.
In 2013, when his contract with Tottenham Hotspur expired, some media outlets believed it won’t take long before a decent team snatches him on a free transfer. Unfortunately, he spent a year without getting a club who still trusts his ability, as such in 2014 at age 29 he called it quit on his professional career.
- Ruben De La Red
A very serious weak heart problem came like a thief in the night to rob off the young Spaniard of his professional career in 2008. De La Red was an intelligent creative midfielder who burst into the scene after graduating from La Fabrica, in Madrid, where he caught the attention of every football fans in Madrid and Spain at large. His loan move to Getafe further exposed what he could actually do with the ball to the rest of the football world.
The talented midfielder’s career was dealt with a painful blow following his return from Getafe in 2008 where he dazzled and shone like a million stars. De La Red suffered a serious heart condition in a match for Los Merengues where he fainted due to the pressure of the game, with that De La Red’s condition resulted in his early retirement from the game of football at age 25, a decent age to rise to the top.
- George Best
The Northern Irish legend originally retired from the game too early. Spending most of his club career at Old Trafford (Manchester United). George Best is a skillful dribbler, and he’s regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. He received lots of plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, two-footedness, goalscoring, and the ability to get past defenders as one of the finest footballers of his generation. He did make a comeback but never reached the heights he had previously been at.
Brazilian legend Pele had even called him the best player in the world. Some of the many clubs later in his career included Fulham, Bournemouth, Hibernian, and many more across the world including the United States.
Gueida Fofana – (France, Retired Age 25) & Alvaro Dominguez – (Spain, Retired Age 27)
Injuries and footballers are one strong bond that can’t be separated while still very much active playing as a professional. When an injury keeps reoccurring it hinders the progress of footballers made them draw the curtain on their careers early. The evil enemy called ‘injury’ to players also happens to former U21 France International Fofana whose professional career was on a great trajectory with Lyon before he retired.
The energetic and rock-solid midfielder was sidelined for more than two years due to ‘Hyaline Cartilage & a Malleolar Injury‘, before then the Frenchman has been very instrumental for Lyon at a very young age. After six years with the former Ligue 1, Champions, Fofana shockingly announced his retirement from football, saying his persistent injury problems with his ankle resulted in him drawing the curtain when he was starting to reach his peak.
- Alvaro Dominguez
Another fantastic player that was dealt a huge blow by the enemy called injury is Alvaro Dominguez. The Spaniard had a stint with the two Madrid clubs at youth level, before going on to play for the Atletico Madrid senior team where he proved himself to be a rock-solid defender during his time in Spain. Following his impressive performances for the Rojiblancos, he sealed a move to Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach and went on to spend many fantastic years with the German side.
Dominguez’s career came to an early end when he was just starting to reach his peak, he shocked the world of football when he announced his retirement at age 27, due to a chronic back problems which didn’t allow the Spaniard to play the game he loves, as such he had to step out from the game of football in 2016 at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Stiliyan Petrov – (Bulgaria, Retired Age 27) & Dean Ashton – (England, Retired Age 26)
For every football aficionados who saw the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor and colleagues played for Aston Villa and also saw Martin O’Neal dished out instructions from the sideline. Then the former Bulgaria captain shouldn’t be a strange name to the ears, Petrov was considered a club legend at Aston Villa by the fans because of his love and great devotion for the club during his playing days, but in 2013 he received a piece of bad news when he was diagnosed with ‘Leukemia’ known as cancer of the blood.
Petrov captained Aston Villa and made close to 200 appearances for Villa, who stood by him throughout his difficult time in his career till he recovered from the disease and named him their youth coach. He retired from the game due to the lack of top-level fitness and passion for football, the fans favorite Petrov could’ve played for many years at the top level had he not suffered such horrible disease like Leukemia.
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- Dean Ashton
Dean Ashton was also another talented player who couldn’t further his career due to injury, he was once considered as one of the England’s promising forward because of how prolific he was in front of goal and because of his amazing goal scoring record in just a few time in his career. Ashton stint with West Ham United comes with 15 goals in 45 appearances.
Following his dream call up to the national team, every hope of him getting to fulfill his dream crumbled when he suffered a horrible ankle injury, which he didn’t recover from after many attempts and treatments. With that he announced his retirement at the tender age of 26 when he was looking to be knocking on the peak of his career, truth be told the injury was very cruel to the promising career of Ashton.
Fabrice Muamba – (Congo, Retired Age 24) & Sam Hutchinson – (England, Retired Age 21)
An FA Cup match between Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur will always be a match the Congolese midfielder will forever remember in his career. Muamba made over 100 appearances for Bolton Wanderers and looked promising for Bolton before he shockingly collapsed during the match, as he was discovered to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
Muamba retired from football following his recovery from cardiac arrest, because of his fragile heart condition. He couldn’t continue his footballing career which ended prematurely, but then he was very grateful to have played at the top level of his professional career for Bolton Wanderers.
- Sam Hutchinson
Promising Chelsea’s defender Hutchinson was also forced to retire because of a chronic knee injury, which deprived him of fulfilling his promising career. Hutchinson made four appearances for the first team under Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea when he got his first senior debut at age 18 against Everton.
Hutchinson announced his retirement in 2010 due to his reoccurring knee injury, and after his retirement, he was offered a role as a ‘Player Mentor’ helping the development of young players from Chelsea’s academy. Had it been he didn’t suffer such injury, perhaps he could have been one of the best English players.
