Arjen Robben has announced his retirement from football after a 21-year playing career.
Robben made over 300 appearances for Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and won a league title in every country he played in.
The 37-year-old, however, struggled with injuries after coming out of retirement in 2020 and rejoining boyhood club Groningen in 2020. He endured a seven-month absence last season after making his second debut.
Robben also made 96 appearances for the Dutch national team and is the ninth-most capped Netherlands international.
What has been said?
In a heartfelt statement, Robben said: “I have decided to stop my active football career. A year ago I announced my comeback as a FC Groningen player. I embarked on this adventure with great energy and enthusiasm.
“I only had to deal with physical setbacks quite quickly, which prevented me from playing matches for a very long time. After a long road of trial and error I finally managed to play the last games of the season.
“Looking back on the past season, I have to come to the honest conclusion that the number of match minutes was disappointing.
“I knew in advance that this could happen, but I took up the challenge and gave everything to make it work. And not only me, everyone within the club and in my immediate environment has helped and supported me at all times.
“I am also not unaffected by the warm reactions and support from all football fans.”
What did Robben achieve?
After beginning his career at Groningen, Robben joined PSV in 2002, spending two seasons with the Dutch giants and winning one Eredivisie title.
He then joined Chelsea in 2004, where he was a key figure in their back-to-back Premier League title wins. Robben’s spell in London was injury-hit, however, and he joined Real Madrid ahead of the 2007-08 campaign.
Real won the title in his first season but Robben only remained in Spain for two years, leaving after the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka in the summer of 2009.
It was then during his decade at Bayern Munich where Robben firmly established himself as one of the greatest wingers of his generation, as the Dutchman became a Bavarian icon.
Robben terrorised Bundesliga defences and was instrumental as Bayern won eight league titles in 10 seasons. Bayern also lifted the Champions League in 2012-13 as they completed a momentous treble.
He also scored 37 times for the Netherlands, representing them at six major tournaments.
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