GOOD LUCK LADS! – 10 former Premier League starters who hung up their cleats in 2022
A number of prominent figures from the Premier League’s past and present have recently announced their retirement.
A number of former Premier League stars have announced their retirement from the sport due to their aging legs and creaking bodies.
The following ten former Premier League players will retire in 2022:
Mark Noble
Mark Noble’s West Ham career came to an end at the conclusion of last season, with the London Stadium serving as an emotional backdrop for his final game.
Noble, who was born in Canning Town, less than a mile from the Hammers’ former home at Upton Park, fulfilled his childhood dream by playing for the club for nearly two decades.
With only brief loan stints at Hull and Ipswich, he made 550 appearances and scored 62 goals for the club after making his debut as a teenager.
He stated to BBC Sport, “I could not believe it was me.”
“I could not believe the stadium was completely full.
“I was truly privileged. I have participated in football for many years. I don’t recall ever seeing a similar farewell.
“There were many local boys playing on their teams many years ago. But times change.
“The majority of Premier League teams have scouts in every country on the planet. Agents are aware of every player with promise.
“As a West Ham fan, I lived not only the dream of every West Ham fan, but the dream of every fan.
“Millions of people in this country pay a lot of money to watch their teams so that they can play for and captain the team they grew up rooting for.
They possess this allegiance and loyalty.
Noble has swiftly advanced to the next phase of his career.
In January, he will become the sporting director of West Ham after completing a Harvard business course.
Ben Foster
Ben Foster made the decision to retire this summer after deliberating whether or not to remain in the Premier League after leaving Watford.
Before the Hornets were relegated last season, the 39-year-old made 26 league appearances for Watford, but he turned down an offer from Newcastle.
While playing for Manchester United and Birmingham City, Foster earned eight England caps and three League Cups.
Due to the popularity of his YouTube channel (The Cycling GK) and podcast (Fozcast), he has transitioned into a successful media career.
John Obi-Mikel
John Obi Mikel announced his retirement in September, stating that he was “very pleased with everything I was able to accomplish in the game.”
The Nigerian midfielder rose to prominence following a transfer dispute between Manchester United and Chelsea.
In accordance with a complex and contentious agreement, the former was compelled to compensate the latter.
Mikel spent a decade in west London, where he made 372 appearances and won two Premier League championships, three FA Cups, and the Champions League.
Mikel also won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations during his 89-cap Super Eagles career.
William Wilshere
Once touted as the future of English football, Jack Wilshere’s career never lived up to its initial promise due to fitness issues.
Two FA Cup winners’ medals, two Goal of the Season awards, and a PFA Young Player of the Year award attest to his successful career.
Wilshere burst onto the scene as a teenager, and arguably his most memorable performance was in the Champions League against Barcelona.
His body repeatedly failed him despite 197 appearances for Arsenal and loan stints at Bolton (loan), Bournemouth, and West Ham.
Aleksandar Kolarov
Having joined Manchester City from Lazio in 2010, Aleksandar Kolarov was a member of the club’s burgeoning squad during the era of its billionaire owners.
The Serbian fullback appeared in 247 games for the Citizens and scored 21 goals. He was an attack-minded fullback with a powerful long-range shot.
After leaving the Etihad, he played for Roma and Inter Milan, but fitness problems plagued his time with the latter despite their Serie A championship.
Kolarov represented Serbia in 94 international matches.
He intends to train as a sporting director and scout at the National Football Centre of the Italian Football Federation.
Jonathan Defoe
Jermain Defoe scored 325 goals for club and country at the senior level over the course of his career.
Before achieving success with Tottenham, Portsmouth, and Sunderland, he was a child prodigy at West Ham. He scored 162 goals in the Premier League, which only eight other players can match.
In 2009, when Tottenham defeated Wigan 9-1, he was one of only five players in Premier League history to score five goals in a game.
He had difficulty maintaining a regular position with England, but he scored an impressive 20 goals in 57 appearances, of which only 22 were starts.
Moussa Dembele
For seven seasons, Mousa Dembele dominated the Tottenham Hotspur midfield.
A soccer player who effortlessly dribbled past Premier League players and whose deceptive strength bulldozed numerous opposing engine rooms.
During Dembele’s peak seasons with the club, Spurs players consistently gave the same response when asked who their best player was.
Statistics should be ignored when discussing Dembele, a footballer’s footballer who retired this year after a stint in China.
Carlos Tevez
This summer marked the conclusion of Carlos Tevez’s colorful career, during which he was both a Premier League hero and a pantomime villain.
Along with Javier Mascherano, his transfer to West Ham remains one of the league’s most remarkable transactions.
Alan Pardew displayed two of the world’s most promising young players at Upton Park.
He only spent one season with the Hammers, but he left as a club legend after a spectacular run of form ensured Premier League survival.
Tevez joined Manchester United, where he formed one of the best front threes in Europe.
In the 2007-08 season, the Argentine wreaked havoc alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as Manchester United won both the Premier League and Champions League.
The following season, he won a second league championship before a controversial transfer to Manchester City.
In 148 appearances for City, he scored 73 goals and became a key figure in the club’s early success.
Martin Skrtel
The Slovak central defender made 320 appearances for Liverpool between 2008 and 2016 after joining from Zenit St. Petersburg.
Skrtel was a combative defender who was named the Reds’ Player of the Season in 2011/12, and his threat from set-pieces was apparent during a seven-goal Premier League campaign in 2013/14.
Before retiring after stints in Turkey, Italy, and his native England, he won the League Cup while playing for Anfield and earned over a hundred England caps.
Fabian Delph
Fabian Delph’s announcement of his retirement as a former England midfielder last month, following his departure from Everton, surprised some individuals.
After successful stints at Leeds, Aston Villa, and Manchester City, the 32-year-Goodison old’s Park appearances were limited to 21 over two seasons due to injuries.
Delph, who earned 20 England caps, appeared in 204 Premier League games for City, which won consecutive titles in 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Additionally, he won the FA Cup and three League Cups.