After a career that spanned 23 years, with more than 700 professional games, English footballer, Phil Jagielka has decided to retire.
The Former England, Everton and Sheffield United defender announced his retirement on Tuesday, November 28 at the age of 41.
Jagielka was released by Championship outfit, Stoke at the end of last season and decided to call time on a 23-year professional playing career.
Jagielka made over 750 appearances at club level, while he won 40 caps for England between 2008 and 2016.
He scored three goals for England and was part of the Euro 2012 and 2014 World Cup squads.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “As you can tell by the timing, I’ve tried to put myself out there for a little bit longer to see if anyone fancied giving me an opportunity to extend it, but they didn’t and I understand that.
“I’m super proud of myself to play at 40.
“If you’d have sat me down as a 15 or 16-year-old kid after being told I wasn’t good enough and then fast forward telling me I’d scored at 40, played at 40 and had the career I’ve had then I don’t think I can have too many complaints.
Jagielka made over 300 appearances for Sheffield United across two spells at the club
“I managed to stay in and around the England set up for close to a decade and somehow managed to get 40 caps.
“I scored a few goals along the way and thankfully captained the team.
“Playing for your country is an amazing achievement and it wasn’t something I expected to do. I got released at 15 or 16 and managed to bounce back all the way to the top.”
Asked what is next, Jagielka responded: “I always said that when I retired it was going to be golf, golf, golf! But I’m just going to take a bit of time out.
“Will I go into coaching or not? I don’t know.”
