Top 5 players who retired early due to injuries: Ft Raphael Varane

Injuries are an unfortunate consequence for athletes who dedicate their lives to pursuing their passion. It's heartbreaking to see many promising careers cut short due to injuries, leaving young players to cope with shattered dreams and the need to find a new path. These stories are truly saddening, and unfortunately, they are all too frequent in professional sports. In football, many players struggle with fitness issues throughout their careers.

Here are 5 such footballers whose careers were ruined by injuries and who had to retire early :-

5) Owen Hargreaves

Hargreaves solidified his reputation at Bayern Munich in Germany by playing a pivotal role in their Champions League victory in 2011. Departing from the team in 2007, he joined Manchester United and secured a Premier League and Champions League double in 2007–08. Unfortunately, a knee injury forced him to retire in 2012.

4) Eric Cantona

The news of Eric Cantona's abrupt retirement from football in 1997 was truly shocking and left many fans and admirers feeling a deep sense of loss. It was hard to believe that one of the finest players in English football was leaving the game at the age of just 30 when there appeared to be so much more for him to achieve at Manchester United.

Cantona had been a shining light for the club throughout the nineties, playing a pivotal role in securing their first league title in 26 years. It was truly disappointing that he did not get to experience United's Champions League victory just two years later, as well as France's World Cup triumph in 1998.

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3) Sergio Aguero 

Sergio Aguero, an iconic Premier League striker, scored an impressive 260 goals in 390 appearances for Manchester City . Despite a successful decade at the club, he made a move to Barcelona in 2021. However, Aguero's stint at Camp Nou was shortened following health issues. Shortly after scoring his first goal for Barcelona against Real Madrid in October, Aguero was hospitalized with cardiac arrhythmia. Despite initial expectations of a three-month recovery, Aguero announced his retirement from football in December of the same year.

2) Marco Van Basten 

Diego Maradona once stated that the best player he ever saw was a toss-up between Romario and Marco van Basten. It's intriguing to think about the potential impact van Basten could have had on the world of football had he not been forced to retire at the age of 31. However, by that point, he had essentially been out of the game for two years due to persistent ankle injuries, with his final match for AC Milan being the 1993 Champions League final against Marseille.

Marco Van Basten has gone down as one of the finest strikers to have ever graced the game. The Three-time Ballond'Or winner and two-time European Cup champion is remembered for one the most spectacular goals of the previous century, which he netted against the USSR in the finals of the Euro 88.

1) Raphael Varane 

French defender Raphael Varane officially retired from football this year in 2024, concluding a triumphant career that included stints at some of the most prestigious clubs in the world, and a collection of major titles.

Varane made the difficult decision to retire due to persistent injuries despite having previously agreed to join Serie A's newly promoted club, Como.

The accomplished centre-back boasts an impressive list of accolades, including a World Cup victory with France, four Champions League triumphs, three La Liga titles with Real Madrid, and concluded his time at Manchester United with an FA Cup triumph.

Varane's stints at Real Madrid and Manchester United were plagued by injuries. He even suffered a devastating knee injury on his debut against Sampdoria this past month.

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