Santi Cazorla, the former Arsenal and Spain midfielder, announced his retirement from professional football at age 41. He ended his playing career at Real Oviedo, his boyhood club, accepting a minimum-salary contract to see out his final campaign.
Cazorla won two UEFA European Championships with Spain (2008, 2012) and two FA Cups with Arsenal (2014 against Hull City, scoring a free-kick), making 180 appearances and scoring 29 goals for the Gunners. His career nearly ended in 2016 when he contracted gangrene following an operation, requiring 11 surgeries, but he made a remarkable recovery to continue playing professionally for a further decade.
In his retirement statement, Cazorla reflected: "Now that everything is ending, when the boots are being hung up, and the noise is turning into silence, everything fits together, because the ending wasn't just anywhere—I was at home." Real Oviedo confirmed Cazorla donated all image rights to the club and committed 10% of future jersey sales to fund the youth academy.
Arsenal
Real Madrid
Villarreal