Welsh star Gareth Bale announced - yesterday, Monday - his retirement from football, and he is still 33 years old, which is an average age for retirement for a star the size of Bale, and we monitor the most prominent 11 stars who retired from the round witch early as well.

The Welsh winger, who played during his career for Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and finally Los Angeles, decided to retire after being the most titled British player, as he won 3 titles in the Spanish League, 5 in the Champions League, and 3 in the Club World Cup.

Injuries, physical problems or fatigue were among the main reasons why these stars were forced to retire from football.

In addition to Bill, there are 10 stars who retired at a relatively early age, according to the Spanish newspaper Marca:

  • Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario

Cruciate knee ligament injuries forced one of the most skilled players in history to retire at the age of 34, after spending the last 3 years with the Brazilian team Corinthians.

  • Argentine Sergio Aguero

A heart attack during a Barcelona match in 2021 hastened his retirement at the age of 33, as Barcelona was forced to terminate his contract after medical examinations confirmed his ineligibility to continue in the stadiums.

  • French Zinedine Zidane

He retired after Real Madrid's match against Villarreal at the Bernabeu in 2006 (he was 34 years old at the time) months after the great crisis caused by his famous headbutt to Italian player Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany.

  • Dutchman Marco van Basten

The Dutch striker was forced to bid farewell to the field at the age of 31 due to serious and repeated ankle and knee injuries.

  • French Eric Cantona

The French striker, and one of the legends of Manchester United, has retired in his prime at the age of only 31.

  • Spaniard Carles Puyol

The former Barcelona captain was forced to retire at the age of 34 due to persistent problems and injuries in his knees.

  • French Michel Platini

The most prominent stars of the "Roosters" in the eighties retired from football in 1987 at the age of 32, because he no longer enjoyed football, as he put it.

  • Argentine Jorge Valdano

After he participated in crowning his country with the World Cup title in 1986, he felt unwell and was diagnosed with hepatitis, to be forced to retire in 1987 at the age of 31.

  • Dutchman Patrick Kluivert

The Dutch star was 32 years old when he announced his retirement in 2008 and was playing - at the time - for the French team Lille, due to the chronic injuries he suffered, although he was one of the best strikers in his country's history.

  • French Didier Deschamps

The French captain, who won the 1998 World Cup, surprised everyone by announcing his retirement in 2001 at the age of 32.

When he was playing for the Spanish team Valencia, he started his career with training immediately, which culminated in his training of the French national team and his crowning with him as coach in the 2018 World Cup and then the runner-up in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.