Yearender 2021 – Five high-profile players who retired in 2021

From
World
Cup
winners
to
Champions
League
winners
–
2021
saw
some
of
the
biggest
names
quietly
exiting
from
the
footballing
stage.

As
we
enter
the
last
two
weeks
of
the
year,
it
is
worth
taking
a
moment
to
look
back
and
reflect
upon
five
footballing
stars
who
left
the
field
this
year.

1.
Sergio
Aguero

The
Argentine
international
was
sadly
forced
to
retire
from
the
game
due
to
cardiac
arrhythmia
at
the
age
of
33
only
this
month.
The
former
Manchester
City
star
signed
a
two-year
deal
with
Barcelona
this
year
but
made
just
five
appearances
before
being
taken
to
hospital
with
chest
pains
after
a
match
at
home
to
Alaves
in
October.

Following
some
medical
checkups,
he
was
advised
to
stop
playing
and
it
put
an
end
to
his
football
career
this
month.
Aguero
has
left
the
game
as
one
of
the
finest
strikers
of
this
generation.
He
scored
260
goals
for
the
Cityzens,
the
most
famous
being
his
injury-time
strike
against
Queens
Park
Rangers
in
May
2012
which
won
the
side
the
Premier
League
title.

Overall
he
won
five
Premier
League
titles
with
City,
as
well
as
one
FA
Cup
and
six
League
Cups.
He
also
won
the
Europa
League
during
his
time
with
Atletico
Madrid
earlier.

2.
Wayne
Rooney

The
Manchester
United
and
England
legend
ended
his
career
earlier
following
his
full-time
managerial
appointment
as
Derby
County
manager
in
January.
Rooney
succeeded
Phillip
Cocu
on
an
interim
basis
in
last
year
November
but
after
impressing
was
handed
a
full-time
role.
His
entry
into
management
brought
curtains
down
a
great
career
that
saw
him
become
the
all-time
leading
goalscorer
for
Manchester
United
and
England,
winning
16
trophies
including
5
PL
and
one
Champions
League.

3.
Arjen
Robben

Robben
retired
from
football
following
his
stint
with
Bayern
however
decided
to
come
out
of
it
last
June
to
play
for
boyhood
club
FC
Groningen
in
the
Dutch
Eredivisie
last
season.
However,
his
campaign
was
hampered
with
injuries
and
he
only
made
seven
appearances
in
all
competitions
and
scored
two
goals.
Thereafter,
the
Premier
League
winner
hung
up
his
boots
in
July
curtaining
down
a
great
career.
Robben
has
represented
several
clubs
throughout
the
course
of
his
career,
most
notably
Chelsea,
Real
Madrid
but
he
flourished
most
with
Bayern
Munich
where
he
won
eight
Bundesliga
titles,
five
German
Cups
and
one
Champions
League.

4.
Sami
Khedira

The
former
Germany
international
may
never
have
been
the
most
trendy
player,
however,
he
was
always
a
vital
cog
in
every
side
he
represented
over
the
years.
Not
only
did
he
help
inspire
German
underdogs
Stuttgart
to
the
Bundesliga
title,
but
also
retired
having
won
five
Serie
A
titles,
La
Liga,
the
Champions
League
and
the
World
Cup
while
representing
the
likes
of
Real
Madrid
and
Juventus.

5.
Mario
Mandzukic

One
of
the
greatest
Croatian
footballers
of
all
time,
Mandzukic
announced
the
end
of
his
playing
career
this
summer
after
17
years
on
the
pitch.
The
35-year-old
represented
several
top
clubs
in
his
illustrious
career
including
AC
Milan,
Juventus,
Bayern
Munich
and
Atletico
Madrid.
While
in
Italy
he
won
four
league
titles
and
three
Coppa
Italia
with
Juventus,
and
in
Germany,
he
won
a
Champions
League
and
two
Bundesliga
titles
with
Bayern
Munich.