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Former Real Madrid and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has seen niggling injuries force him into retirement but who else called time on their careers for the same reasons in 2024?
French defender Raphael Varane has announced his retirement from football, bringing an end to a successful career that saw him play for some of the world’s top clubs, while winning numerous titles.
Varane has made the decision after injuries put paid to his desire to continue, having agreed to sign for newly-promoted Serie A club Como.
The centre-back has won the World Cup with France, four Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles with Real Madrid and ended his Manchester United spell with an FA Cup win.
However, his spells at Real Madrid and United have been hampered by injuries and coming to Italy, he experienced a setback at the first time of asking, having suffered a knee injury in his debut against Sampdoria last month.
"I hold myself to the highest standard, I want to go out strong, not just holding on to the game," he wrote on Instagram. "It takes a big dose of courage to listen to your heart and your instinct.”
"I have fallen and risen a thousand times, and this time, it's the moment to stop and hang my boots up with my final game winning a trophy at Wembley," he said.
"I have no regrets, I wouldn't change a thing. I have won more than I could have even dreamed of, but beyond the accolades and trophies, I am proud that no matter what, I have stuck to my principles of being sincere and have tried to leave everywhere better than I found it. I hope I have made you all proud."
Varane is not the first player to be forced out of the game due to injuries this year.
Phil Jones
England defender Phil Jones has this week shared how injuries made it impossible to continue playing, leading to his retirement in August 2024.
The 32-year-old had not played since leaving Manchester United at the end of the 2022-23 season, with his last appearance being 12 months earlier against Brentford.
Jones joined United from Blackburn Rovers in 2011 with a big reputation but he did not realise his full potential in a Red Devils shirt as constant injuries denied him a consistent run in the team.
“I was feeling my knee again a little bit but I thought it has got to go away at some point, it is not just going to stay there forever,” Jones shared during an interview with High Performance.
“We were doing a drill around a circuit, you would play the ball, pass it into the net and jog around through the cones in a little warm-up. I couldn't pass the ball with my right foot, a little soft pass, I couldn't pass the ball. I wanted the world to swallow me up,” Jones added on the moment he knew his career had come to an end.
Thiago Alcantara
Thiago Alcantara retired in July 2024 after his Liverpool contract came to and end and this was after spending most of his three-year stay on the treatment table.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich midfielder had always been dogged by injuries but the painful setbacks increased somewhat during his stay at Liverpool.
Fearing another injury if he continued, Thiago decided to retire from football, bringing an end to a successful career that yielded four La Liga and seven Bundesliga titles.
Ryan Bertrand
Former Chelsea, Southampton and West Brom defender Ryan Bertrand called time on his career in June after spending one year without a club since leaving Leicester.
Bertrand had struggled with injuries in the years leading to his retirement and made just 11 appearances for Leicester.
She called it quits live on air while making an appearance on Sky Sports.
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