Ex-Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has announced his retirement from football at the age of 31 – following a serious knee injury on his competitive debut for Italian side Como.
The Frenchman won a plethora of trophies throughout his career including four Champions Leagues and a World Cup, but has retired at an age many would consider to be the peak age for a defender.
Varane’s early retirement places him amongst many other famous footballers who hung up their boots early.
In the modern era of physios and dieticians, it is common for footballers to play until their late 30s but some prominent players in recent years have retired in their early 30s.
Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard’s careers took extremely similar paths as both players burst onto the footballing scene with enormous potential, winning Young Player of the Year trophies and setting the Premier League alight for Tottenham and Chelsea respectively.
When both players were in their prime, they moved to Spanish giants Real Madrid – Bale aged 24 in 2013 and Hazard aged 28 in 2019.
Yet they failed to live up to the expectation of their price tags and previous performances retiring at 33 and 32 with long-term injury problems playing a part in their decisions.
Sergio Agüero, Thiago Alcântara and Jack Wilshere are among other famous players who have retired aged 33 or younger in recent years.
The age of retirement drops even lower for some pre-modern era world-class players.
Eric Cantona, widely considered one of Manchester United’s greatest-ever players, was just 30 when he retired.
Cantona said: “I always planned to retire when I was at the top and, at Manchester United, I have reached the pinnacle of my career.”
Another Manchester United great is perhaps the best example of a player retiring at the peak of their powers.
Ballon d’Or winner George Best was only 28 when he initially retired due to alcohol problems.
Although the Irish winger returned to football after his first retirement he never rose to his previously spectacular levels.
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