Soccer stars from all over the planet have always had to deal with the tense physical state of the game. Over the years, the importance of fitness sessions and recovery days has increased to provide players with enough time to recoup their match fitness. Regarded as one of the most taxing sports in the world, soccer has had its fair share of careers ended prematurely due to injuries.
During the recent seasons, there have been several debates about the increased number of matches over the season. Players, coaches, and experts have all emphasized the need to protect the athletes from too many games. Consequently, instances of additional squad depth with numerous squad rotations have become prominent.
🗣️ Aurélien Tchouaméni: “We really need to do something on the calendar. We play 70-80 games a year. If we want to play until 38/39, it will be difficult.
Obviously we play too many matches, this shows in injuries. At some point, the players should do or say something!” pic.twitter.com/mSC0ETiKEI
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) October 13, 2023
Suffering from injuries is one of the most difficult and challenging phases for any soccer player. While some are fortunate to recover and come back, some had to deal with the hard truth of never getting back on the playing field again. Here are five players who had to retire prematurely from professional soccer due to injuries.
Marco van Basten
The late ’80s and the early ’90s were a golden period for the Dutch national team and AC Milan. Both of them enjoyed the services of their star striker, Marco van Basten. Standing at 6′ 2″ tall, van Basten was considered one of the most complete strikers of his time. At the age of 28, he had 283 club goals and 24 goals for the national side, along with three Ballon d’Ors and one European Golden Boot.
Marco van Basten retired at 31 having not played for two years due to injury:
◉ 3x Ballon d’Or
◉ 3x Serie A
◉ 3x Eredivisie
◉ 3x KNVB Cup
◉ 2x European Cup
◉ 2x Intercontinental Cup
◉ 2x Supercoppa
◉ 1x Super Cup
◉ 1x Cup Winners’ Cup
◉ 1x Euros437 games, 307 goals. pic.twitter.com/qlgGc9jIXW
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 29, 2024
During his latter years with AC Milan, Marco van Basten had to deal with recurring ankle injuries. He had to undertake three surgeries on his ankle which also kept him out of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Before the commencement of the 1995-96 season, van Basten officially announced his retirement at the age of 28 in what was a disappointing end to a hugely promising career.
Fernando Redondo
Amidst all the star names that Real Madrid have had in their ranks throughout their history, Fernando Redondo has been one who has always been a fan favorite. The Argentinian used to operate as a defensive midfielder and was considered amongst the best in his position. His exit from Real Madrid in 2000 even caused massive unrest in the fanbase.
In 2000 Milan Signed Fernando Redondo from Real Madrid
Sadly, he suffered a serious knee injury in one of his first training sessions and was unable to play for 2 years; he suspended his £2.74M salary & tried to give back the house & car which the Milan board had given him pic.twitter.com/RiF3jTO7QC
— My Greatest 11 (@MyGreatest11) September 14, 2023
Unfortunately for Redondo, he suffered a knee injury during his initial weeks at AC Milan in 2000. The injury kept him out of action for more than 2 years and he was to make just 16 league appearances during his time at Milan. Following another knee injury in 2004, Fernando Redondo decided to hang up his boots from professional soccer.
Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves enjoyed a dream start to his soccer career. Developing through the youth ranks in Canada, Hargreaves earned a transfer to Bayern Munich in 1999. The then Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed with the midfielder’s abilities and brought him to Old Trafford. He played a key role in United’s 2008 UEFA Champions League glory.
🗣 Owen Hargreaves talks about dealing with the mental effects of an injury that would end his career
Episode 6 of Inside Matters 👇
— Premier League (@premierleague) May 20, 2020
2006 was a bittersweet year for Owen Hargreaves. In the same year when he was awarded the best English player at the World Cup, Hargreaves first started to suffer from his eventual career-ending injuries. Diagnosis revealed an issue with his patella tendon which continued to affect him in the coming years. In 2012, after appearing in just one league game for Manchester City, Hargreaves accepted defeat in his battle with injuries at the age of 31.
Micah Richards
Micah Richards was once considered one of the most talented defenders in England. His abilities at a very young age gathered praise from all over the soccer world. He played a key role in helping his club, Manchester City win the 2011-12 Premier League title. City would see Richards associated with them till the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
Micah Richards would every so often return from Bodymoor Heath in tears when he was unable to play for #AVFC through a career-ending injury.
His dad always thought he’d play for the Villa and it ‘broke’ Richards’ heart that he couldn’t change the perception of his time at B6.
— John Townley (@johntownley11) October 1, 2021
During the Olympics in 2012, Micah Richards was diagnosed with an ankle injury which kept him out for more than two months. Over the next two seasons, he suffered from recurring injuries which ultimately led to his exit from Manchester City in 2015. Following moves to Fiorentina and Aston Villa, Richards announced his retirement in 2019 at the age of 31.
Andre Schurrle
Schurrle was an integral part of Germany’s 2006 FIFA World Cup winning squad. At the age of 25, Schurrle was a world champion as well as a Premier League winner with Chelsea. He was widely regarded amongst the youngsters with the highest potential in Europe.
Andre Schurrle explains his decision to retire from football at just 29 years old 😞 pic.twitter.com/VCSy5LaG98
— GOAL (@goal) July 17, 2020
In what was an injury-hit spell at his last professional club, Spartak Moscow, Schurrle made the brave call to call it quits from professional soccer at the age of just 29. The world was shocked by the German’s premature retirement, to which Schurrle responded by mentioning that his body could not handle the pressure of his fitness issues anymore.
