Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Arsenal stars are among some of the high-profile footballers to have announced their retirement this year.

Some footballers such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Gianluigi Buffon are still going strong in their forties, but others have decided to call it quits in recent months.

We’ve taken a look at nine notable names and familiar faces who have decided to hang up their boots in 2023.

Mesut Ozil

The German midfielder was one of the greatest playmakers of his generation and it’s a shame to see him hanging up his boots. Ozil is collectively considered as an all-time great and yet it still feels as if he could have achieved more.

Surprisingly enough, Ozil only won one league title throughout his career, but that shouldn’t diminish the genius he was. He blessed the Premier League with some great moments and also got his hands on the World Cup with Germany.

After short stints at Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir, Ozil took to Twitter to announce his retirement in March 2023, aged 34. We already miss him.

READ: The jaw-dropping Mesut Ozil solo goal that’s not talked about enough

Gareth Bale

The Welsh winger went out on the international stage and announced his retirement in January, soon after the World Cup. “It [football] has truly given me some of the best moments of my life,” explained Bale in his retirement post.

At his peak, there weren’t many other players better than Bale. His stardom peaked while at Real Madrid and he had a large helping hand in the countless trophies the club won.

He’ll no doubt be living life up right now on a golf course somewhere.

Bojan Krkic

It’s crazy to think that Bojan, who was dubbed as ‘the new Messi’, has retired before Messi himself. The Spanish forward deserves to be celebrated though after a thoroughly enjoyable career.

Of course he didn’t quite live up to the hype, but who could have? He won 10 trophies with Barcelona and enjoyed stints with the likes of Roma, Milan and Ajax.

Best of all is that he became a cult hero at Stoke City in the Premier League. After leaving England he had spells in the MLS and J1 League, before announcing his retirement in March 2023.

Sime Vrsaljko

The Croatian full-back won La Liga and the Europa League with Atletico Madrid, but injuries held him back from reaching his full potential. He also started in the 2018 World Cup final and received 52 caps for his country.

Aged 31, Vrsaljko took the decision to retire this year after mutually terminating his contract with Olympiacos.

Fernando Llorente

The physical Spanish forward scored over 200 goals in his career and made 676 appearances at club level. He enjoyed spells with Athletic Bilbao, Juventus and Tottenham.

He also had a memorable season with Swansea as his 15 goals kept them out of the bottom three. Having been without a club since he left Eibar at the end of last season, he announced his retirement in February.

Lucas Leiva

Lucas will always have a place in Liverpool fans’ hearts. The Brazilian midfielder took the decision to retire this year aged 36 after a a heart issue was detected.

“I confess that it came from greater forces, but I look back and can only be thankful for the career I built,” Lucas wrote in his retirement post.

“In 2007 I transferred to the giant [that is] Liverpool, which was part of my life for 10 years. It is with great pride that I can say that today Liverpool is my home. I’m proud to be an English citizen and along with my family; I’m [a] Scouser!”

Emmanuel Adebayor

Aged 39, Adebayor announced his retirement from football in March. The former Arsenal and Real Madrid forward had spent his final years playing in his native country of Togo for Semassi.

We will sure miss him though as there was rarely a dull moment with Adebayor around.

Joao Miranda

The Brazilian defender spent his best days with Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, but he decided to hang up the boots earlier this year. After a brief spell in China, he ended his career with Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Eljero Elia

The Dutch winger played in five different counties throughout his career and has notable spells with Werder Bremen, Feyenoord and Southampton.

Elia had been without a club since he left ADO Den Haag in January 2022 and he officially announced his retirement in February this year.

“This is the moment that the whole of the Netherlands will know that I have stopped playing football,” the winger told ESPN. “In my head I had already stopped. I didn’t like it anymore in recent years.”

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The article 9 big-name players who’ve retired in 2023: Bale, Ozil, Bojan, Adebayor… appeared first on Planetfootball.com.