Last updated on August 4th, 2023 at 05:37 pm
Arjen Robben Announces Retirement From Professional Football
Thanks to one of the greatest wingers of all-time, Arjen Robben for his service. The 35-years old Robben finally hung up his boots after 19-years of a professional career. The Dutch footballer and Bayern Munich star announced his retirement from professional football on 4 July 2019. Robben had already retired from international football earlier in October 2017 when the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Source: @ed.nl
The Dutch wonderboy was signed by Groningen in 1996, where he polished his skills at the clubs youth system. Following his two seasons at the club, he was later signed by PSV in 2002. He quickly established himself as one of the key players in the team. He led the club to win 2002-03 Eredivisie and 2003 Johan Cruffy Shield.
Source: @pinterest.com
Sir Alex Ferguson, impressed with Robben's performance, tried his luck to sign him with Manchester United. However, Chelsea beat Manchester United on signing Robben for 18 million Euro in 2004. Injuries affected his early seasons for Chelsea. However, he became the key member of the team that won several trophies for the club. He won 2 Premier Leagues, 1 FA Cup, 2 Football League Cup, and 1 FA Community Shield with Chelsea. He spent three seasons at Chelsea scoring 19 goals in all competitions.
Source: @marca.com
Following his successful campaign at Chelsea, Spanish club, Real Madrid became interested in signing the Dutch winger. Real Madrid successfully signed Robben for 35 million Euro in 2007. At Real Madrid, Robben won 2007-08 La Liga and 2008 Supercopa de Espana. He scored 13 goals in his only 2 seasons at Spain.
Source: @bavarianfootballworks.com
Upon the arrival of Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian Kaka, Real Madrid sold Robben to German club Bayern Munich for 25 million Euro in 2009. Robben became one of the prominent and key players in the history of Bayern Munich. Robben spent 10 long seasons at the club winning 20 trophies for the club. He won 8 Bundesliga titles, 5 DFB Pokals, 5 DFL Supercups, 1 Champions League, and 1 UEFA Super Cup during his 10 seasons at the club. In his 10 seasons in Germany, he scored 144 goals in all competitions.
Source: @japantimes.co.jp
For his country, Robben led the Netherlands to runners-up finish at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they were defeated by Spain in the final. Robben represented the Dutch team at different age levels before making his senior international debut against Portugal in 2003. He has represented the Netherlands at 2004, 2008, and 2012 Euro Cups, and at 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cups. He led the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Robben became the captain of the Dutch team in August 2015. Robben failed to help his country to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Following the Netherlands' unsuccessful qualifying campaign, Robben retired from international football in October 2017. He retired from International football with 37 international goals.
Robben has accumulated numerous individual awards during his professional career as well. He was named Johan Cruijff Prijs (Dutch Footballer of the Year) for the 2002-03 season. He was named The Kicker Man of the Year in 2010, Footballer of the Year in Germany in 2010, and Dutch Sportsman of the year in 2014. He won the 2014 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball and finished 4th at the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or.