After a stellar career, these 13 footballers are will be saying farewell to the beautiful game and hang up their boots.
In fact, you'd be surprised to know some of these stars were still playing.
MILAN BAROS
At 38 the former Liverpool striker has finally decided he's had enough of lacing up his boots.
The Czech legend was playing for the club where it all started for him – Banik Ostrava – and in the past three seasons managed 20 goals in 63 games.
His best spell in club football was probably at Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he struck 61 times in 116 games.
ANDRE SCHURRLE
The former German international and Chelsea star is a surprise retiree.
After all, the World Cup-winner is only 29.
Schurrle was with Borussia Dortmund, but found himself on the periphery of the first team, and was loaned out to Spartak Moscow last season.
MARIO GOMEZ
The 35-year-old won German Footballer of the Year with Stuttgart, achieved the treble leading the line for Bayern Munich, where he scored 23 goals in 39 Champions League games.
On top of that, he also created history by scoring more goals than any other foreign player in a single season for Besiktas.
His last club was his favourite – Stuttgart – where he scored in his final game as they achieved promotion to the Bundesliga.
LEIGHTON BAINES
The former England and Everton left-back bows out of football in style.
With 39 goals and a further 37 assists, he has more goal involvements than any defender in Premier League history.
At 35, he decided that was it – despite the offer of another contract on the table from Carlo Ancelotti, who wants him to stay on as a coach.
MILE JEDINAK
The former Crystal Palace captain was released by Aston Villa in 2019, after helping them win promotion to the Premier League.
A year later, he found himself in a coaching job at the same club working with their youth academy.
But Jedinak, 35, didn't feel done, and in May of this year said he hadn't officially retired with A-League team Macarthur FC declaring their interest.
However, that u-turn didn't last long with the midfielder announcing his retirement this month revealing it's “now time for a new chapter.”
CLAUDIO PIZARRO
The eldest player on the list, the Peruvian legend is retiring at the grand old age of 41.
He ended his career at Werder Bremen, where he enjoyed four successful spells.
Pizarro had one season at Chelsea, but failed to hit the heights in English football as he did in Germany.
There was also six years with Bayern Munich, where he scored 100 goals in 256 games.
GELSON FERNANDES
A much journeyed midfielder, Fernandes hangs up his boots at the age of 33.
He played for Sven-Goran Eriksson at Manchester City from 2007-09, who called him the best young player in Switzerland.
A spell at Leicester City under Nigel Pearson failed to recapture his form.
ESSAM EL-HADARY
The Egyptian goalkeeper, aged 47, holds the record of the oldest player to ever feature at the World Cup, when he appeared for his country aged 45 in 2018.
But that's your lot for El-Hadary, who has finally retired after winning 159 caps, eight Egyptian Premier League titles, four CAF Champions Leagues, as well as the African Cup of Nations four times.
DAVID N'GOG
N'Gog was set to be a Liverpool legend when he put the gloss on a 2-0 win over Manchester United in 2009.
Spells at Bolton and then Swansea didn't bring out the best of him, but at Reims he showed the magic was still there with 10 goals in 48 games.
However, his career petered out playing in Greece, Scotland, Hungary, and finally Lithuania, where he's retired aged 31.
BRUNO SORIANO
The Villarreal captain spent his entire career at the club, playing 424 times for the Yellow Submarines.
But Soriano, 36, hadn't played since May 2017, after suffering with a serious knee injury.
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However, lockdown gave him more time to plot his return, and miraculously he returned to the team playing the final two minutes against Sevilla in June.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago
