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Football at the elite level is synonymous with glory, fame and lucrative financial rewards, however, performing at that top tier can also be incredibly taxing with players pushed to the limit by the massive pressures involved.
Burnout – from both a physical and mental perspective – is real and a whole host of football’s star names have cut careers short over the years by choice while others have been forced to quit after a succession of injuries has left their bodies broken.
Sadly, not every footballer gets to ride off into the sunset in their late 30s and below, we’ve taken a closer look at some of the stellar names that have hung up their boots before their time.
7. Raphael Varane
Retired: 2024, age 31
Stylish French centre-half Raphael Varane was a four-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid and a World Cup winner with France (2018), though injury issues eventually caught up with the defender in his early 30s.
The worrying signs were evident during his stint with Manchester United between 2022 and 2024 when the Frenchman struggled to stay fit for long periods and shortly after joining ambitious Italian side Como in July last year, Varane suffered a knee injury and decided to call it a day.
6. Brian Laudrup
Retired: 2000, age 31
The supremely talented Brian Laudrup was part of the famous Danish Dynamite team, alongside his brother Michael and legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel, that defied the odds to win Euro 92.
A gifted technician, mazy dribbler and reliable match-winner, Laudrup also played with distinction for Bayern Munich, Rangers and Ajax before a chronic Achilles tendon injury ended his career at the age of just 31.
5. Eden Hazard
Retired: 2023, age 32
In his pomp, Eden Hazard was a footballing tour-de-force that could win matches on his own, however, his performances fell off a cliff following a €100m transfer to Real Madrid in 2019 and between that move and his retirement in 2023, the Belgian barely kicked a ball.
Hazard was a four-time Player of the Year winner for Chelsea and was a favourite anytime goalscorer bet for punters on football betting sites before his switch to Spain, though a combination of injuries and commitment issues led to weight gain and a massive regression before his eventual retirement.
4. Marco van Basten
Retired: 1995, age 30
Widely regarded as one of the finest finishers of all time, Marco van Basten was another superstar whose time was cut short by serious injury.
The three-time Ballon d’Or winner won three Dutch titles with Ajax, four Serie A titles with AC Milan and two Champions Leagues with the Rossoneri, and added a European Championship triumph to his haul with the Netherlands in 1988 during a glittering career.
Van Basten had scored more than 300 goals for club and country before an ankle injury forced him out of the game at the age of 28, much to the sorrow of the sporting world.
3. Gareth Bale
Retired: 2023, age 33
Many would argue that Gareth Bale is the best-ever Welsh footballer – and few would disagree. The flying winger with an eye for the spectacular, became the most expensive player of all time for a spell when he left Tottenham for Real Madrid in an £85.3m in 2013.
Bale scored more than one hundred goals for Los Blancos and helped the club to win three La Liga and five Champions League titles, however, the Welshman’s love for football quite visibly dwindled after he turned 30 and when he announced his retirement in 2023, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise.
2. Eric Cantona
Retired: 1997, age 30
Eric Cantona captained Manchester United to the Premier League title in 1996/97 but in typically dramatic style, the enigmatic Frenchman announced a showstopping decision to retire before the champagne bubbles had fully settled.
Driven by a desire to pursue dreams of becoming an actor, Cantona left supporters shell-shocked when he chose to quit football while still in his physical prime. The forward won four Premier League titles and two FA Cups during his relatively short five-year stay at Old Trafford.
1. George Best
Retired: 1983, age 28 and 37
George Best – football’s ultimate flawed genius – was one of football’s greatest players in his pomp during the mid to late 60s when one of Northern Ireland’s most famous sons won the Ballon d’Or while helping Manchester United to achieve domestic and continental glory.
Best scored 179 goals in 410 appearances for the Red Devils, however, the demonic drink always had a hold on the winger and consumed by alcoholism, his light diminished and he first retired at the age of just 28 in 1973.
Best tried to mount a comeback but journeyman spells around the globe at the likes of Stockport, Los Angeles Aztecs, Fulham and Fort Lauderdale, Hibernian, San Jose Earthquakes Bournemouth and Brisbane yielded little other than disappointment and he retired again for good in 1983.
