Football legends that have retired in 2023

• Football legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon announced his retirement from football this week.
• This year, he is not the only one who has decided to hang up his boots
• We look at football legends that have retired in 2023.

Football legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon announced his retirement from football this week.

After a phenomenal four-decade career, the Italian goalie will be remembered as one of, if not the finest goalkeeper of all time.

This year, he is not the only one who has decided to hang up his boots. Numerous well-known footballers have declared they won’t ever play again.

We look at football legends that have retired in 2023.

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon. Photo/ Sports Illustrated.

At the age of 45, Gianluigi Buffon confirmed his retirement on Wednesday. During his career, he won the World Cup with Italy, won several titles with Juventus, and was widely recognized as one of the finest goalkeepers in soccer for many years. Buffon departs the sport with the same side with whom he started his professional career over three decades ago because he had one season remaining on his contract with Parma in Serie B.

Buffon’s exploits include helping Juventus win 10 Serie A titles and winning the World Cup in 2006. He also won the Ligue 1 championship while playing for Paris St. Germain.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a former teammate of Buffon’s, exits the game with a bag full of awards, several memorable remarks, and a collection of highlights that ought to make Ronaldinho smile.

There were still questions about his genuine talent despite the fact that he scored goals for pleasure in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and France but had never done so in the Premier League. With ease, he dispelled concerns by tallying 28 goals in 46 games for Manchester United in 2016–17.

The Swedish player is a maverick who is becoming increasingly rare in today’s game, while not being to everyone’s liking.

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale. Photo/ Goal.com.

Gareth Bale‘s playing time at Real Madrid was significantly reduced by injuries, but he could never have imagined the amount of success he would achieve with Los Blancos. By the time the Welshman departed the team in 2022, he had won five Champions Leagues in addition to a plethora of other awards.

Despite being adored at Tottenham Hotspur, the Welshman was never the most well-liked person in Madrid since he was thought to care more about his golf game than his job. Before announcing his retirement in January, he finished with one last trophy—the MLS Cup—with Los Angeles FC and three Fifa World Cup appearances for Wales.

David Silva

David Silva is a wizard with the ball, but a cruciate ligament injury drove him into an early retirement. The Spaniard assisted Real Sociedad in making it into the Champions League this year, but he won’t participate in the upcoming season.

When he was at his best, the midfielder might have been a part of any team in the world. He spent most of his career at Manchester City, where he helped the team achieve success for a decade after being acquired by City Football Group.

Mesut Özil

Mesut Ozil. |PHOTO: Getty Images |

During his tenure at Arsenal, the mercurial playmaker caused controversy among many football fans, but he also delivered some of the best moments in Premier League and European history.

It came to an embarrassing conclusion when Mikel Arteta shoved the German international and his enormous salary out the door. He suffered at his subsequent stop in Turkey, where he played for Istanbul Basaksehir and Fenerbahce, before abandoning the sport entirely in March as a result of persistent ailments.

Cesc Fabregas

After a remarkable 20-year career, the former midfielder for Chelsea and Arsenal announced his retirement in July. Despite never winning the Champions League, the Spaniard won 12 significant titles, including the Fifa World Cup and two European Championships.

He had offers from Barcelona and Monaco as well, but he spent the previous season playing for Como in Serie B, where Dennis Wise serves as the company’s CEO.

Diego Godin

Defender Diego Godin was a fighter who made an immeasurable contribution to Spanish football while playing for Atletico Madrid. He was a key member of the squad that won La Liga and advanced to the Champions League final in 2014. The Uruguayan was a battle-hardened center-half who never backed down from a challenge.

Godin participated in four World Cups and mostly played for Atlético Madrid from 2010 to 2019 over the majority of his club career in Spain. He competed for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina this year.