A number of well-known players announced their retirement in the year 2021. Some left professional football willfully, while others were forced to retire due to injuries. A few have chosen coaching as a career after retirement. Others have pursued careers as football experts or in other football-related activities. The top five footballers who retired in 2021 are discussed in this article. They were all very accomplished professional footballers who achieved remarkable success for both their clubs and countries. Let's take a quick glance at their career in a nutshell.
Top Five Retired Football Players in 2021
The top five footballers who chose to retire are Wayne Rooney of England, Mario Mandzukic of Croatia, Sami Khedira of Germany, Arjen Robben of Holland, and Sergio Aguero of Argentina. Take a look at their achievements in football and the reasons for retirement.
Wayne Rooney
Club Statistics: Matches: 763 | Goals: 313
Club Honours: Premier League (5), Champions League (1), FA Cup (1), EFL Cup (3), Community Shield (4), Europa League (1) and FIFA Club World Cup (1)
International Statistics (England): Matches: 120 | Goals: 53
The all-time leading goal scorer for England and Manchester United, Wayne Rooney announced his retirement from football on January 15, 2021. Wayne Rooney became the manager of Derby County after retiring.
Rooney had a remarkable career as a professional football player. He spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he earned multiple trophies. Rooney won 16 major titles during his 13 years with Manchester United, including the club's all-time goal-scoring record of 253. In 2015, he also surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton to become England's all-time leading goalscorer. Rooney will go down in history as one of the greatest English footballers of all time.
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Mario Mandzukic
Club Statistics: Matches: 582 | Goals: 228
Club Honours: Prva HNL (3), Croatian Football Cup (2), Bundesliga (2), DFB-Pokal (2), DFL-Supercup (1), Champions League (1), UEFA Super Cup (1), FIFA Club World Cup (1), Supercopa de Espana (1), Serie A (4), Copa Italia (3), Supercopa Italiana (1), Qatar Stars League (1),
International Statistics (Croatia): Matches: 89 | Goals: 33
International Honours (Croatia): FIFA World Cup 2018 (runner-up)
Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic represented nine European clubs during his 17-year career and won several titles. He won the Champions League trophy with Bayern Munich in 2013 and represented Croatia in the FIFA World Cup 2018 final.
While playing for AC Milan in Italy, Mandzukic announced his retirement on September 3, 2021. The talented striker is regarded as one of Croatia's finest players ever. He was also one of his generation's best forwards.
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Sami Khedira
Club Statistics: Matches: 469 | Goals: 47
Club Honours: Bundesliga (1), La Liga (1), Copa del Rey (2), Supercopa de Espana (1), Champions League (1), UEFA Super Cup (1), FIFA Club World Cup (1), Serie A (5), Copa Italia (3), Supercopa Italiana (1),
International Statistics (Germany): Matches: 77 | Goals: 7
International Honours (Germany): FIFA World Cup 2014 (Champion)
German central midfielder Sami Khedira had a brilliant career with Real Madrid and Juventus, winning multiple trophies. Khedira had a fantastic year in 2014, winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and the FIFA World Cup with the German national team in Brazil just two months later.
Sami Khedira confirmed his retirement after ending the 2020/2021 season with the Bundesliga team Hertha BSC. Khedira was a gifted midfielder of his generation who played an important role for Real Madrid from 2010 to 2015.
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Arjen Robben
Club Statistics: Matches: 614 | Goals: 209
Club Honours: Eredivisie (1), Johan Cruyff Shield (1), Premier League (2), FA Cup (1), Football League Cup (2), FA Community Shield (1), La Liga (1), Supercopa de Espana (1), Bundesliga (8), DFB-Pokal (5), DFL-Supercup (5), Champions League (1), UEFA Super Cup (1)
International Statistics (Netherlands): Matches: 96 | Goals: 37
International Honours (Netherlands): FIFA World Cup 2010 (runner-up)
One of the greatest attacking midfielders in Dutch history, Arjen Robben was a Bayern Munich legend. He helped Bayern in winning several championships from 2009 until 2019, including the Champions League in 2013. Furthermore, Robben represented the Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA World Cup final in South Africa. In addition to this, he had enjoyed great success at Chelsea of England and Real Madrid of Spain.
While playing for Groningen, Arjen Robben announced his retirement on July 15, 2021. He was regarded as one of the top midfielders of his era.
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Sergio Aguero
Club Statistics: Matches: 685 | Goals: 385
Club Honours: Europa League (1), UEFA Super Cup (1), Premier League (5), FA Cup (1), EFL Cup (6), FA Community Shield (3)
International Statistics (Argentina): Matches: 101 | Goals: 41
International Honours (Argentina): Copa America 2021 (Champion), FIFA World Cup 2014 (runner-up)
Sergio Aguero's retirement announcement last year came as a huge surprise. He was taken to the hospital after a La Liga match against Alaves due to a breathing problem. Sergio announced his retirement on December 15, 2021, after consulting with doctors.
Aguero is widely considered as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time, as well as one of the finest of his generation. He spent ten years with Manchester City, where he became the club's all-time leading scorer. With 12 hat-tricks, he holds the record for most hat-tricks in Premier League history. One of Sergio Aguero's most iconic moments was scoring the game-winning goal in stoppage time against QPR in the last game of the 2012 season. Manchester City won their first Premier League title thanks to his goal. He was featured in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil and won the Copa America 2021 with Argentina's national team.
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Aftermath
So far, we have mentioned five notable footballers who retired in 2021. Sergio Aguero's decision to retire from football was the most sorrowful of the above-mentioned retiring footballers. Aguero wasn't ready for retirement since he had a mission to play for FC Barcelona for a few more years. However, Sergio had to retire owing to a serious health problem. Former England captain Wayne Rooney and Dutch maestro Arjen Robben were among the best footballers of the last decade, and their contributions as players will be remembered forever. Khedira and Mandzukic played for some of Europe's best clubs and had significant success with their respective national teams as well. These footballers were among the key figures in their respective teams during their playing careers, and many young footballers look up to them as role models.