Former midfielder Danny Drinkwater, who had stints with Leicester and Chelsea, officially announced his retirement on Monday, citing a prolonged period of uncertainty and inactivity in his career.
Drinkwater was a key figure in Leicester’s stunning Premier League title win in 2016 but transferred to Chelsea a year later. Unfortunately, he struggled to secure a regular place at Stamford Bridge and endured unsuccessful loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa, coinciding with personal issues off the pitch.
In 2019, the 33-year-old pleaded guilty to a drink-driving offense after a car crash. He suffered an ankle injury later the same year during an incident outside a nightclub. In 2020, he head-butted his Aston Villa teammate, Jota, during a training ground altercation.
Drinkwater’s last competitive appearances came while on loan at Reading during the 2021-22 season. Since the end of that season, he had been without a club following the expiration of his Chelsea contract.
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, Drinkwater expressed his decision: “It’s been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now. I think I’ve been in limbo for too long. I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued.”
Despite his love for football, Drinkwater recognized that he was at a crossroads: “I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?”
With three caps for the England national team, Drinkwater started his career in Manchester United’s youth academy. However, he never made a senior appearance for the club and joined Leicester in 2012.
Reflecting on his retirement, he remarked, “It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be an easy thing. If I was playing week in, week out and I had to say I’ve got to stop, maybe through injury or through just age, not being able to get about the pitch like I’d like to, I think it would be trickier.”
