5 footballers who retired before the age of 30 

#1 Ryan Mason

Mason following his clash of heads with Gary Cahill

Ryan Mason started his youth career at Tottenham Hotspur and made his first-team debut in 2008. He had gone on several loan spells before the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs and had become a regular first-team player in 2014.

Following a disappointing 2015-16 campaign, Tottenham decided to sell the Englishman to Hull City. He was having a good spell at his new club as he had become an integral part of the Hull squad.

Devastated to hear today’s news from Ryan. Competing for a corner is something we’ve done thousands of times and to see those consequences for a top professional like Ryan is heartbreaking. Sending all my love to him and his family, and wishing him the best for the future.

— Gary Cahill (@GaryJCahill) February 13, 2018

However, it was in January 2017 when Mason suffered a life-threatening injury. It was a Premier League fixture against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Hull midfielder leapt high to win a header against Gary Cahill from a corner kick. It was at this very moment when he clashed heads with Cahill and he fell to the ground.

He received immediate medical attention on the pitch for about 10 minutes and it was later revealed that he had suffered a fractured skull. He underwent a successful operation and had to go through a rehab program for the rest of the year as he was keen on returning to play football.

However, on the 13th of February, Mason was forced to announce his retirement at just 26 years of age following medical opinion and expertise.