{"id":96658,"date":"2023-11-28T13:25:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T13:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=96658"},"modified":"2023-11-28T13:25:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T13:25:20","slug":"former-premier-league-and-england-defender-retires-at-the-age-of-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/former-premier-league-and-england-defender-retires-at-the-age-of-41\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Premier League and England defender RETIRES at the age of 41"},"content":{"rendered":"
Former Premier League and England defender Phil Jagielka has announced his retirement from football.<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old has been without a club since he was released by Championship side Stoke at the end of last season.<\/p>\n
He had hoped to join a new club for the current campaign, but has decided to call time on his 23-year professional career after failing to do so.<\/p>\n
The centre-back made over 750 appearances at club level for four different clubs and won 40 caps for England between 2008 and 2016 – scoring three goals for his country.<\/p>\n
He told Sky Sports: ‘As you can tell by the timing, I’ve tried to put myself out there for a little bit longer to see if anyone fancied giving me an opportunity to extend it, but they didn’t and I understand that.<\/p>\n
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Defender Phil Jagielka has announced his retirement from football at the age of 41<\/p>\n
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Jagielka (top row, second right) had 40 caps for England, playing twice for his country in the 2014 World Cup<\/p>\n
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‘I’m super proud of myself to play at 40.<\/p>\n
‘If you’d have sat me down as a 15 or 16-year-old kid after being told I wasn’t good enough and then fast forward telling me I’d scored at 40, played at 40 and had the career I’ve had then I don’t think I can have too many complaints.’<\/p>\n
Jagielka came through the ranks at Sheffield United and made 287 appearances for the Blades between 2000 and 2007.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He left for Everton in a \u00a34m deal in July 2007, making 385 appearances for the Toffees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After leaving Goodison Park, he had one final spell at Sheffield United, before joining Derby and finishing career at Stoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His England career was best remembered for starting in two of England’s three at the 2014 World Cup. The Three Lions failed to win a game and crashed out of a group that included Costa Rica, Italy and Uruguay.<\/p>\n
Jagielka also took to Instagram where he wrote: ‘All good things come to an end and\u00a0 my playing career is done.<\/p>\n
‘Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would get to play football at the highest level for some amazing clubs as well as my country.<\/p>\n
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Jagielka started his career at Sheffield United and play for them at the back-end of his playing days after a lengthy spell at Everton<\/p>\n
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Jagielka made 385 appearances for Everton over a 12-year period from 2007 to 2019<\/p>\n
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Jagielka, who last played for Stoke, confirmed the news with this message on Instagram<\/p>\n
‘It’s been an absolute honour to step onto the grass for every match and I have so many people to thank for that.<\/p>\n
‘Firstly I would like to thank every player, manager, coach, member of staff and fan who has played their part in my long football journey.<\/p>\n
‘I’ll be forever grateful for your support.<\/p>\n
‘Most importantly though I would like to thank my family and close friends who have stood by me throughout my career and shared in what has been something I’ll never forget.’<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n