PhilBy Victor Kanayo
Former England international Phil Jagielka has finally announced that he has retired from playing football.
He retired at the age of 41.
Retirment Confirmation
Jagielka who disclosed this in an interview with Skysports said, “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.
“I’m super proud of myself to play at 40. I don’t think I can have too many complaints about my career.
“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.”
Asked what is next, Jagielka responded: “I always said that when I retired it was going to be golf, golf, golf! But I’m just going to take a bit of time out.
“Will I go into coaching or not? I don’t know.”
Jagielka’s Rich Career Path
Jagielka who played for Everton and Sheffield United, enjoyed a 23-year playing career making over 750 appearances at club level and winning 40 caps for England;
His career spanned 23 years, with more than 700 professional games.
Jagielka was released by Championship side Stoke at the end of last season and has decided to call time on a 23-year professional playing career.
Jagielka’s final club of his 23-year career was Stoke.
He scored three goals for England and was part of the Euro 2012 and 2014 World Cup squads.
Jagielka spent the first seven years of his career at Sheffield United and helped them earn promotion to the Premier League under Neil Warnock in 2006.
Warnock handed Jagielka his professional debut in May 2000 and he paid tribute to the manager’s impact on his career.
In his first spell at the Blades, Jagielka famously ended up in goal twice for lengthy periods – against Millwall in 2004 and Arsenal in 2006 – with Sheffield United winning both games.
Jagielka spent 12 years at Everton and captained the club from 2013.
Jagielka then joined Everton in a £4m deal in 2007 and spent 12 years at Goodison Park, captaining the club from 2013 until 2019.
