A week before the season opener: Ciro Immobile retires unexpectedly

Ciro Immobile announced today, Friday, his unexpected retirement from football with immediate effect. The 36-year-old Italian striker, who joined Paris FC last January, was expected to play another season, participated in pre-season training and all preparation matches, but failed to attend morning training and reached an agreement with the club's management to part ways.

As an explanation for his decision, he cited a desire to spend more time with his family and stop frequent travel. Paris FC players cheered him in recognition of his illustrious career.

«I am ending a big part of my life, I love football with all my heart, but I want to be honest with myself about my situation», — he told his teammates. — «This is not an easy decision for me because you are a big family and I loved being with all of you. I want to be with my family now, they need me».

Ciro Immobile is a legend.

After 650 matches, more than 320 goals, and multiple trophies, Ciro Immobile is putting an end to his immense career.

Immobile, Lazio's all-time top scorer and winner of the European Golden Shoe for the 2019/20 season, scored 17 goals in 57 appearances for the Italian national team, including two in matches against Israel and two at Euro 2020, where he won the most significant title of his career with the Azzurri.

In addition, he won the Coppa Italia with Lazio, where he starred for eight seasons, the German Super Cup with Borussia Dortmund, and the Turkish Super Cup with Besiktas, while finishing as the Serie A top scorer four times. In total, he scored over 320 goals in 650 appearances during his career.