Danny Drinkwater retires from active football
Former Leicester City and Chelsea FC midfielder, Danny Drinkwater has announced his decision to retire from active football aged 33.
The Englishman has been without a club since July 2022 when he part ways with Chelsea FC.
Drinkwater announced on Monday, October 30, 2023; ” I’d just like to announce my retirement from professional football.
” I didn’t think it would bother me but saying it then it’s almost like scratching a nerve a bit.
,’I think I’ve been ready for it, not stopping at my peak and it’s simmered down a bit, that’s helped the transition.
‘I think I’ve been in limbo for too long, I’ve either been wanting to play but not getting the opportunities to play at a level where I felt valued.
‘I just thought I’m restless here for no reason, I’m happy not playing football, but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?
‘It’s all I’ve known, it’s been my life since I was six or seven, it was never going to be an easy thing.
‘I think the way it’s died down has definitely helped. If I was playing week in, week out and had to stop through injury or age I think it would be trickier.
‘I’ve had quite a few offers from Championship clubs, but I never felt the burn, it did nothing for me.’
At the start of his career, Drinkwater came through the academy Manchester United academy but didn’t make a senior appearance for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side amid loan spells to Huddersfield, Cardiff, Watford and Barnsley.
But his career took off when he signed for Leicester in 2012, helping them win promotion into the Premier League in 2014.
Drinkwater played a prominent part in Leicester’s miraculous Premier League title success under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16, featuring in 35 of their 38 league games.
In March 2016, he won the first of three England caps in a friendly match against the Netherlands at Wembley but didn’t make Roy Hodgson’s squad for that year’s European Championship.
He played one more season at Leicester before Chelsea signed him for £35million. However, he was never to play a prominent part there, his cause not helped by injuries.
After 22 appearances in his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge, Drinkwater went on various loan spells to Burnley, Aston Villa, Turkish club Kasimpasa and Reading in the Championship.
