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As football fans we all have our favorite players in the game. These are the guys we go to war for when anyone throws dirt at them. We feel proud to wear replicas with their names printed on the back. We can copy their favorite celebration as it is and cannot miss a game featuring them.
All of this makes it very difficult for us to imagine our beloved game without our dearest players. For if it were in our hands, we'd want them to never stop playing. But aging is the nature of man. Although footballers often make it look like just another number as humanly possible for them, it takes a toll on them at some point.
We all wish the best for our favorite players and empathize with them. However, there are a few footballers who, even though did not have huge die-hard fan followings, had enough well wishers. Some of them bid adieu to the game we all love at an early age and no one saw it coming.
Over the years, fans have admitted that there were a decent bunch of footballers who they wished had stuck along for longer. Here's presenting a few selected from that bunch. Here are five footballers who the fans wish had retired later rather than sooner:
#5 Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer retired from international football and stepped down as an England player in 2000 at the age of just 30. This proved how much the game demanded at the elite level. The centre-forward revealed that he wanted to give Newcastle United the best return possible for their money in the last few years he had in him.
He clocked absolutely incredible numbers for the Magpies post his retirement. It proved how big a shame it was to not have Shearer playing in England colors. He scored 84 goals in the Premier League after Euro 2000. Given the consistency with which he scored, he could have taken his tally of 30 goals in 63 games for England way further.
The Englishman's last game was the Euro 2000 group stage match against Romania in which the Three Lions lost 3-2. However, Shearer did score in the match and bowed out with his name on the scoresheet. He remains the Premier League's all-time top-scorer with 263 goals to his name.
There was speculation that Shearer could indeed make a comeback from retirement to help the national side in the 2002 World Cup or 2004 Euros. But that did not happen.
#4 Patrick Kluivert
There were many admirers of Patrick Kluivert in his days. But a good chunk of those were left disappointed with how his form faded after he peaked. 31 is by no means an apt age in football to retire unless faced with a miserable injury. In fact, many have shown their true might in their 30s.
But Kluivert, who carried the reputation of being a prolific striker, realized he wasn't offering a lot to the game anymore. The Dutchman had proven his worth on the big stage very early on in his career. He scored the winner and only goal of the 1995 Champions League final for Ajax against AC Milan.
After his exploits with the Eredevisie club, he moved to AC Milan for a lone season where his performances dipped. The striker's reputation was at stake when Barcelona signed him in 1998. He made the most of the star-studded side that the Spanish club had to enjoy the most prolific years of his life.
From 1998 to 2003, Kluivert scored 15 goals or more for the Catalans in five consecutive La Liga seasons. The 2003 season was the last when we saw the best of the Dutch striker. The stints at Newcastle United, Valencia and PSV were underwhelming as he struggled to make the most of his time on-field.
Kluivert realized that he had lost the magic touch and his ability to impact games. He announced his retirement at 31 in 2008 when he was playing for Losc Lille.
#3 Hidetoshi Nakata
The popularity of European football is unparalleled across the globe due to factors like money, viewership, quality and talent on display. So naturally when a young aspiring Asian footballer names a European star as his inspiration there are no surprises.
However, Hidetoshi Nakata deserves a lot of admiration for achieving a dream, many only ever dream of. He deservedly became an idol for many in Asia. The attacking midfielder was by no means as prolific as any other name on the sheet. But he took to European football's intensity as a duck takes to the water.
Nakata was a centerpiece in Japan's revolutionary qualification to the 1998 World Cup as he scored five goals in the qualifiers. At just 20, he carried the country's hopes and answered prayers by rising to the occasion. He provided all three assists in the 3-2 playoff victory against Iran.
Regarded as the best Asian player in late 1990s and early 2000s, he won the Serie A title with Roma in 2001. The following season, Nakata won the Coppa Italia with Parma. He was contracted to Fiorentina in 2006, but with a year remaining on his contract, chose to hang his boots.
The Japan international was left unhappy with the increasing importance of money found in football. He believed the sport was losing its core value. He fell out of love with the sport due to the same and retired aged 29.
#2 Brian Laudrup
If there were footballers who the fans could gift an injury-free career to, Brian Laudrup would make the list of the vast majority. The Dane was an accomplished player as he finished his career with league titles from Italy, Denmark and Scotland.
Best known for his immense contributions to the 1992 Euro and 1995 Confederations Cup-winning Denmark side, Laudrup retired at 31. Injuries ruined his progress and made it impossible for him to carry any momentum. The brilliance of the younger Laudrup was thwarted.
He had high standards when he was fit and as his career progressed he enhanced his quality as a professional. He won four Danish Player of the Year accolades in 1989, 1992, 1995 and 1997. They were proof that he had the pedigree to extrapolate his career beyond the age when many started to crumble.
In his last season while representing Ajax, Laudrup scored 13 times and provided a further nine assists.
#1 Eric Cantona
There was every chance of Eric Cantona adding to his four Premier League titles and two FA Cups but he chose to hang his boots in 1997. A decision that shocked many given that the Frenchman was in fine form and wasn't showing any signs of slacking.
In his own candid and unfiltered manner, Cantona revealed that he retired because he had lost the passion he once had. It was after the 1-0 consecutive semi-final defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League that he revealed to Sir Alex Ferguson about his decision.
He captained Manchester United in his final season, which ended in an English top-flight triumph in 1997. Cantona was an admirer and connoiseur of art. He loved spending his time in art galleries, something that added to his popularity as an influencer in England.
In his final campaign as a professional footballer, the France international played 50 games, scoring 15 and registering 16 assists.
