Ex-Man Utd defender Varane makes star-studded XI of players who retired too early

Former Real Madrid and Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has retired after suffering a serious knee injury on his Como debut.

The Frenchman enjoyed a glittering career, winning a silly amount of trophies, but hangs his boots up aged only 31. He is not the first and will not be the last to retire from football too early. He joins nine world-class talents – and a religious goalkeeper – in our retired young XI.

GK: Carlos Roa
Religion took over for Mallorca goalkeeper Carlos Roa in 1999, retiring at the age of 30 after refusing to sign a new contract due to his belief that the world was going to end in the near future. It didn’t end, it actually began in 2001 when Barclays was born .

“The year 2000 is going to be difficult,” he said. “In the world, there is war, hunger, plague, much poverty, floods. I can assure you that those people who don’t have a spiritual connection with God and the type of life that he wants will be in trouble.”

Y2K came and went without event and Roa returned to Mallorca on the proviso – as a a Seventh-day Adventist – that he could get Saturdays off. No dice, Carlos.

RB: Phillip Lahm
Injuries are unsurprisingly a theme here but that was not the case for Phil Lahm, who retired when he was 33 despite evidently having plenty left in the tank. The iconic full-back’s last act as an international footballer was to lift the World Cup as Germany captain and a few years later, his final contribution was to lift the Bundesliga plate. He was also named Germany Footballer of the Year in 2017, the year he retired.

There is a little-known fact about Lahm, you know? He once went 13 months without committing a foul! Admit it…you can’t hate this guy.

CB: Raphael Varane
Our inspiration on this overcast Wednesday is French centre-back Raphael Varane, who has called it a day after suffering yet another injury.

Varane joined newly-promoted Serie A side Como in July following the expiry of his Manchester United contract and never made a league appearance for Cesc Fabregas’ side. He injured his knee 23 minutes into his competitive debut and was then excluded from the club’s Serie A squad. The extent of his latest setback was enough to retire and make us all feel very old.

The 31-year-old had an amazing career. He won four Champions Leagues, three La Ligas, four Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, one Copa del Rey, and three Spanish Super Cups with Real Madrid, but his greatest achievement was helping France win the 2018 World Cup. He added an FA Cup and Carabao Cup to his trophy cabinent during his time at Old Trafford as well.

It genuinely feels like yesterday that Varane Broke Onto The Scene as a teenager at the Bernabeu. Ugh. We are so f***ing old.

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CB: Ledley King
From the age of 13, it was evident that Ledley King was destined to become a world-class defender for Tottenham and England. He did just that but was probably the most injury-prone player in Europe due to his cursed knee.

“He is the only guy who doesn’t hold players. He will get the ball off you without you even noticing. For me, that is a good defender.” That Thierry Henry quote sums up King perfectly. He read the game so incredibly well that he didn’t need to break a sweat to defend.

King would be wrapped in bubble wrap all week before showing up on the Saturday as the best player on the pitch, but his knee problems were too much, forcing him to retire at the age of 31.

He could have played for Real Madrid but probably wouldn’t have wanted to – he is Spurs through and through. The truest testament to his mental strength.

LB: Emmanuel Petit
Another bad knee sent Manu Petit to retirement in 2005. The only person to win the World Cup, Euros, Premier League, FA Cup, and appear in an episode of The Bill, Petit had an outstanding career, representing AS Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea.

Petit predominantly played as a central midfielder but was sometimes utilised as a left-back, mainly at the start of his career. We are not Garth Crooks, alright?

The Frenchman was released by Chelsea in 2004 and rejected the chance to sign for Bolton Wanderers in what would have been a classic Big Sam coup. Petit could have joined Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro and Ivan Campo at the Reebok but thought better of it and retired after realising he would never return to full fitness, aged 34. Not that young, we know. He was 33 when he played his last match though…

RM: George Best
Manchester United legend George Best twice announced his retirement in his 20s and didn’t officially retire until he was 37, but the years between his second ‘retirement’ and his last one was nothing but a retirement tour, playing for some mental teams from all around the world.

Best was absolutely fantastic and was the first celebrity footballer in the United Kingdom. What do you write about this man in 2024? Do we bulk it out with some of his iconic quotes you’ve all seen hundreds of times? Fine. Here is our favourite: “If I’d been born ugly, you’d never have heard of Pele.”

CM: Toni Kroos
Another man who won it all with Real Madrid and retired this year, Toni Kroos could not win a fairytale European Championship on home soil after coming out of international retirement for one last dance. His final Madrid match was at least a Champions League final victory, his sixth one.

Six Champions Leagues do not tell the full story when it comes to Kroos. A midfield master, he retired at the age of 34, deciding to go out at the very top instead of moving to Saudi Arabia, MLS, or declining in the Spanish capital, though we all know he still had another season or two at a world-class level.

His game was never about pace so he didn’t need to worry about losing that. The football brain never goes and the passing range had the luxury of being able to decline a bit while still being among the best in world football.

Real Madrid signing Kroos from Bayern Munich for £20million should go down as one of the best signings of all time.

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CM: Hidetoshi Nakata
Japanese superstar Hidetoshi Nakata made his name in Italy after three fantastic years at Bellmare Hiratsuka (now Shonan Bellmare), first joining Perugia before iconic spells at AS Roma and Parma.

He played 77 times for his country, including three at the 2006 World Cup, which would be his final minutes as a footballer. Japanese football has come a long way since his retirement but Nakata was the first world-class player the country has produced.

Nakata’s final club was Bolton in the Premier League, retiring when he was only 29. It unsurprisingly came as a shock.

LM: Eden Hazard
So many ‘footballers who retired young’ pieces are a bit outdated and we could not find any XIs, so our niche nature has forced us to snub Brian Laudrup and go for Chelsea legend Hazard, who retired last October after a horrid time at Real Madrid.

We shall ignore his final, depressing, years as a footballer and instead focus on his incredible time at Chelsea, for whom he won six major trophies. At the peak of his powers, there was nobody better in Our League – Hazard was simply phenomenal.

Hazard was only 32 when he retired and seeing him playing in Soccer Aid this year was fun, but a sorry sight at the same time. The Belgian had his injury and fitness issues in his final years as a professional but definitely could have carried on playing. Clearly, he didn’t see the point.

ST: Marco van Basten
Another simply outrageous footballer ruined by injuries, Dutch legend Marco van Basten was forced to hang up his boots at the age of 28 due to a recurring ankle issue. “I will never forget it, it was an August day in Milanello. I was training alone and could not do the planned exercises. It had been a long time since I met my objectives and I was getting depressed. I decided (to retire) there, alone, on the grass.”

Van Basten won three Ballons d’Or and was probably the best player in the world between 1987 and 1992, helping the Netherlands win Euro ’88 as top scorer with five goals. Second place had two. He also won a silly five Serie A titles with AC Milan and two European Cups.

A return of 218 goals in 280 was pretty good and it should have been a lot more. Who knows, Van Basten might have won another Ballon d’Or or two had his ankle not given up on him.

ST: Eric Cantona
There are plenty of options up front – as it is usually the fancy dan attackers who want to quit kicking the ball around to be an actor – but snubbing Eric Cantona is not an option.

A week after winning another Premier League title at Manchester United, Cantona decided to retire, aged just 30. “I have played professional football for 13 years, which is a long time,” he said. “I now wish to do other things. I always planned to retire when I was at the top and, at Manchester United, I have reached the pinnacle of my career.”

Those things he has done post-football include acting, directing, produced, featured in a Liam Gallagher music video, captained and managed France’s national beach soccer team and joined New York Cosmos as a director. He is also a ‘talented painter’ and released a music album this year.

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