Categories: Sport

Danny Drinkwater retires from professional football

Former Leicester and Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater has officially announced his retirement from professional football on Monday, acknowledging that he had been stuck in a state of uncertainty for too long.

Drinkwater, who played a key role in Leicester’s historic Premier League victory in 2016, moved to Chelsea a year later. However, he struggled to secure a place at Stamford Bridge and endured unsuccessful loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa while his off-field issues multiplied.

The 33-year-old faced legal troubles after pleading guilty to a drink-driving incident in 2019, and he also suffered an ankle injury outside a nightclub later that same year. In 2020, he was involved in a training ground incident where he head-butted his Villa teammate, Jota.

Drinkwater’s most recent appearances were while on loan at Reading during the 2021-22 season, and he has remained without a club since his Chelsea contract expired at the conclusion of that season.

Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, he said: “It’s been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now.

“I think I’ve been in limbo for too long. I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued.

“I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?”

Capped three times by England, Drinkwater was a graduate of Manchester United’s youth academy but did not make a senior appearance for the Old Trafford club before joining Leicester in 2012.

“It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be an easy thing,” he said.

“If I was playing week in, week out and I had to say I’ve got to stop, maybe through injury or through just age, not being able to get about the pitch like I’d like to, I think it would be trickier.”

Idoko Dennis

Idoko Dennis is a creative videographer/drone pilot and sport writer. He heads the sport desk and deputizes the head of Idoma TV

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