Football youngsters who made four legends retire

Most young footballers turn pro at the age of 18 and call it quits at the age of 36 making the average career life span to be around 18 years.

In some cases, injuries can force players to retire earlier than they would have wished, as recently seen with Ryan Mason who retired at the age of 26 following a clash with Chelsea’s Matic. Most players retire in their mid-30s just because they can’t keep with the pace of the game, however, some may choose to keep their feet moving even at 40s.

Here we look at four legends from the Premier League and the young players who made them retire.

4 Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes retired at the end of 2011-2012 season [Photo: Courtesy]

Paul Scholes was undoubtedly the best midfielder at United in his era.

He retired at the end of 2011-2012 season but later came out of retirement in 2012 after Sir Alex Ferguson asked for his services for one last time.

In an interview with BT Sport, Scholes revealed that he found it hard to cope with the pace of Mousa Dembele and Gareth Bale when United met Tottenham in September 2012. He even thought of retiring again early on that season but decided to carry on until the end of the season to avoid embarrassment.

3 David Beckham

David Beckham retired after Messi went past him in a match [Photo: Courtesy]

Beckham who played for a number of European top teams including Manchester United which he spent most part of his career.

The Former Manchester United winger brought his career to an end at the age of 38 in 2013, with his final appearances coming for Paris Saint-Germain during a four-month spell at the end of the 2012-13 season.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Beckham told former teammate Gary Neville that he knew it was time to retire when Lionel Messi was running past him.

2 Jamie Carragher

Lukaku played a role in Carragher retirement decision [Photo: Courtesy]

The former Liverpool star called it quits form football at the end of 2012-2013 season.

In an interview with Sky Sports in 2017, Carragher recalls when Romelu Lukaku, now the Manchester United striker, came on as a substitute and raced past him in a match between Liverpool and Wes Brom. This is when he decided to retire from football. Romelu Lukaku scored 17 goals during a loan spell with Wes Brom that year.

Carragher made 737 appearances for Liverpool and is second, behind Ian Callaghan, in the club's all-time list of appearance makers.

1 Gary Neville

Gary Neville got away with a clear foul on Graham Dorrans [Photo: Courtesy]

The former Manchester United right back hanged up his boots after his final match where United won 2-1 at Wes Brom on New Year’s Day in 2011.

The former Valencia boss and England assistant coach knew he was to retire when he got away with a clear foul on Graham Dorrans that should have resulted in a red card and a penalty. One month later and with three months of the season remaining, Neville called it quits.