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Football is a tough taskmaster to bear. These days the stars at the highest reaches of the game get paid more than enough money, but its not always whats neededto stave off the draining lows that accompany being a top athlete. Pain, injury and mental illness all play their part in being just as opposing a force as even the most accomplished of opponents on the field of play.Getting to the ripe old age of 40 is not as common as it once was. Even more of a novelty are theplayers who pushed their playing days close to 50, much like Englands Sir Stanley Matthews did when he played his final professional match just five days after his half-century birthday.The game has changed so much between then and now. Some might say it has become more physically demanding, more mentally taxing and there are far more aspects to it than just the playing side of things. Its a business, a money-making machine and it can sometimes take a heavy toll. Whatever era you look at, though, there are players who had to retire early.Lets look back at some of those names and examine why their time was cut short.
#1 George Best
Some say he threw away his god-given talent in the prime of his career, others think he was a victim of a culture that simply over-powered him too often that it became normal to accept.
Whatever you think about why George Best petered out of the game it’s obvious that alcoholism and disinterest were his two most-cited downfalls, but what’s equally apparent is that he achieved so much during his stay at the peak of the game he deserves to be celebrated despite his personal foibles.
Out of the top-flight game not too long before turning 28 (although he stumbled from minnow to minnow for a few years after his initial retirement), the Northern Irishman won so many prestigious titles with Manchester United including the European Cup, European Footballer of the Year, English First Division and Charity Shield.
Hitting a plateau so early in his career, Best never fully recovered from his penchant for boozing and promiscuity, ultimately passing away aged just 59. He was one of the best players to ever play the game and it was such a shame that no-one ever saw him spread his wings at a World Cup or European Championship finals.
#2 Eric Cantona
An enigmatic character who was as talented with quips in an over-crowded press conference as he was with the ball at his feet, the Frenchman brought life and exuberance wherever he went. There was rarely a dull moment when “Le Roi” (the King) was the centre of attention and he made it his business to be exactly that more often than not.
A fearless striker who thrived on individuality, his Premier League exploits saw him plunder four titles during his stay with Manchester United during the 1990s and he did it all with style...and a splash of controversy, too.
Whatever about his faults, however, Cantona was the lifeblood of showmanship in English football and his impressive collection of 70 league goals between his spell with Leeds and his more memorable sojourn with the Red Devils meant that it was always going to be sad seeing him depart the beautiful game.
The fact he exited centre stage aged just 31 made it more difficult to stomach as he could have given so much more to not only his own team but to the larger community of neutral football fans.
Alas, his hunger for the game had long been satisfied and although he regretted it a little later on (something underlined by his eagerness to win the Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005), his heart clearly wasn’t in it at the time of retirement, so it was probably for the best, leaving his reputation intact.
#3 Sebastian Deisler
Hopes were extremely high for Sebastian Deisler, especially after making somewhat of a name for himself with Borussia Monchengladbach as a wonder-kid. The hype was real, and so too was the talent as the promising playmaker made media outlets and pundits everywhere sit up to take notice.
A move to Hertha Berlin materialised before eventually securing a big-money transfer to Bayern Munich but between a spate of injuries as well as battling with mental health issues such as depression, the young star was forced to call an impromptu end to his stop-start career at the age of only 27.
Treated to glimpses of his genius on occasion, there were times when his billing as the saviour of German football were truly warranted such as his thrilling 60-yard goal against 1860 Munich back in 1999.
Unfortunately, his journey was an unfulfilled one, and the outrageous expectations placed on him were just too great to bear and it was sad to see him depart with more unhappy memories than good ones to show for all his talent and skill.
#4 Hidetoshi Nakata
Arguably Japan’s greatest-ever footballer, Hidetoshi Nakata simply fell out of love with the game he was so good at playing.
A consummate professional, the former AS Roma and Bolton Wanderers player gave his all during his time flirting with the top levels, but an over-bearing disillusionment with the way the football sphere was working, combined with a longing to re-discover his native homeland ultimately culminated in an early career bath.
TMW Magazine (h/t Forza Italian Football) relayed the best sound-bites from the Japanese star’s explanation behind his early retirement:
“Day after day I realised that football had just become a big business. I could feel that the team were playing just for money and not for the sake of having fun. I always felt that a team was like a big family, but it stopped being like that. I was sad, that’s why I stopped at only 29.”
Having inspired a generation of youngsters to get into the game in the Land of the Rising Sun, it was heart-breaking to see Nakata end his career after his third World Cup finals appearance.
#5 Marco van Basten
A player who was forced to hang up his boots early due to constant battles with injury and time spent on the treatment table, it was a shame for everybody to see him limp away back in 1995, aged just 28.
A legend of the game, the ex-Dutch international left an indelible mark on not just Italian, Dutch and European football, but on the global game. Having won four Serie A titles, three Ballon d’Or awards and a feast of other awards his contributions need little explanation; he truly was a remarkable talent lauded not only by Rossoneri everywhere but by so many others, too.
One of the biggest laments football historians have is that they were robbed of witnessing what further feats of greatness the now 51-year-old could have gone on to achieve. After all, as reported by Goal’s Kris Voakes, he amassed 124 goals for Milan.
Arguably at the prime age for a footballer, his early retirement due to a barrage of injuries was a cruel way for such a marvellously gifted midfielder to see his talents scythed down. Oh, what could have been?
#6 David Bentley
The future seemed so bright for the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man when he first burst onto the scene as part of Arsenal’s youth academy, but at just 29 years of age, the lively winger was forced to call quits on his professional career, leading many to question exactly where it had all gone wrong for the former England international.
These days, he’s become somewhat of an entrepreneur having opened up restaurants in England and Spain, but his enterprise and business know-how, however successful, still seems a far cry from the hazy days of Premier League football and big-money wage packets.
The haze has cleared somewhat surrounding the mystery of his early retirement as he has since come out to explain why he was forced to leave football so early.
The Sunday People’s Tom Hopkins managed to eke out a great response back in 2014 (h/t the Mirror): “But in the end I just got tired of all the bull**** that goes with it, people wanting you to sell yourself as something you’re not. I loved matchdays, the atmosphere and the buzz, but, looking back, the biggest disappointment was coming out of youth team football.”
Seemingly, then, he felt pushed away from a game that had become far more of a business than he wanted and wound up taking the drastic measure of removing himself from an unhealthy environment.
#7 Michel Platini
Nowadays, Michel Platini makes the headlines for accusations of corruption a lot more often than he does for fond recollections of just how good a footballer he was in his heyday. The truth is, though, that he was one of the finest footballers of his generation and is widely regarded as a world-class professional who knew how to control the tempo, pace and balance of even the most important of matches.
Retiring aged just 32 in 1981, one year before the 1988 European Championships, Platini threw in the towel quite a few years before he perhaps should have. He still had plenty to offer, something confirmed by the man himself in an interview he did some years back with Ultimate Zen Soccer: “Thus it became my ambition to retire while I was still at my peak, and it’s something about which I have no regrets.”
A principal player in the famed Carré Magique that was so successful during the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico, he also won the European Cup, the Serie A (twice) as well as earning the Ballon d’Or a remarkable three times.
Ironically, Platini criticised Franck Ribery for quitting the international scene aged just 31 but it seems that it’s the under-fire football bureaucrat who should feel a little silly considering he could have offered so much more to the global game.
#8 Didier Deschamps
Retiring in the summer of 2001 after having played a part in helping Valencia to the Champions League final where they lost to Bayern Munich, Didier Deschamps was just 32 years of age when he called it quits on his playing days, with “sporting and personal reasons” widely believed to have fuelled the decision.
Since then, he has led a really successful managerial existence by guiding AS Monaco to its first UEFA Champions League final appearance as well as helping Marseille capture the Ligue 1 crown. Not only this but he nurtured Juventus back to health by securing promotion from the Serie B back in 2007. He’s also the current France national team coach.
However, football aficionados everywhere can’t help but wonder what more he could have offered on the pitch as a player. At his peak, he was a formidable leader who was to the forefront of the beautiful game nearly everywhere he went, even captaining his country to success at the 1998 World Cup.
#9 Patrick Kluivert
A supremely talented striker when he was at the very peak of his powers, Patrick Kluivert was 32 years of age when he last played a match at the top level in 2008, and although he didn’t officially announce his retirement until many years later, it was only a formality as he had long been an ex-professional.
Famous for his goal-scoring proficiency, particularly with FC Barcelona and the Netherlands, Kluivert was one of the best strikers on the European continent for years, but injury eventually caught up with him despite years of coping with strains and knocks here and there.
However, it was with Ajax that he picked up a record that still stands to this very day, becoming the youngest player to ever score in a Champions League final, rattling the net against AC Milan back in 1995 when he was just 18 years old.
In all, his career was a brief but scintillating one. Scoring 40 times for the Dutch national team in 79 appearances, he is currently second on their all-time scoring list behind only Robin van Persie.
Some contend that his penchant for the nightlife massively hindered his abilities as he entered into his late 20s and early 30s. In truth, it’s hard to tell whether he had lost his excitement for the game before this but what is clear is that he was a sumptuous star who knew how to impose his clinical touch on the game for years and will always be remembered as one of the finest finishers around.
#10 Kevin Keegan
It has been so long since an English footballer captured the imagination and hearts of European followers of the game that it seems strange to think it could happen again anytime soon. The last time an Englishman was considered in the final three for the Ballon d’Or, for example was back in 2005 when Frank Lampard was chosen by his peers.
That said, back in the 1980s Kevin Keegan was tearing it up with season after season of rip-roaring display of individual brilliance. A magician with the ball at his feet, his spells with both Liverpool and SV Hamburger earned him a number of top accolades and trophies that included winning the Ballon d’Or two years in a row, a feat only six others have done since the award’s inception in 1956.
Keegan left the game aged just 33, but it’s something he refuses to regret, as relayed by the Guardian’s Stuart Jeffries:
“I could have hung back in midfield for another three or four years, but I thought, no. It was the best decision I made in my life. I was at the highest level and the only way was down. I call it the glass mountain – you can't climb a glass mountain.”
