Former Leicester Premier League winner and unsung hero of historic 2015-16 Foxes side retires aged 37, admitting his ‘body is falling apart’
- A member of Leicester’s 2015/2016 Premier League winning team has retired
- The player ends his career because his ‘body is falling apart’
- Xabi Alonso is smart and will do what is best for him. He won’t make an emotional decision about his next management job. Listen to the It all starts podcast
A player who was part of Leicester’s remarkable Premier League title triumph in 2015/16 has announced his retirement.
The international star, who spent four years at Leicester, will end his career at the end of the current season.
The player in question played more than 100 games for the Foxes but has decided to retire at the age of 37.
He admitted that he chose to stop playing because his body was “falling apart.”
A member of Leicester’s 2015/2016 Premier League winning side has announced his retirement
The player contributed to Leicester’s remarkable title triumph in the 2015/16 season
Shinji Okazaki has announced his retirement.
Okazaki joined Leicester from Mainz in 2015 and scored five league goals in his first season at the club as the Foxes were crowned champions.
Claudio Ranieri’s side won the title in one of football’s greatest ever stories, despite the odds being 5000-1 at the start of the campaign.
In total, Okazaki played 137 games for Leicester and scored 19 goals.
Okazaki wrote on Instagram: “I have given everything as a football player so far,” Okazaki posted on Instagram.
“When I realized my body was falling apart, I naturally felt like I had reached my limits.”
Okazaki currently plays for Belgian side Sint-Truiden, but has only played five league games this season, suffering from a knee injury.
After leaving Leicester in 2019, Okazaki signed for Malaga but left the Spanish club without making an appearance as his wage demands exceeded the maximum budget allowed by the league.
Shinji Okazaki, who played 137 games for Leicester, has announced his retirement
Okazaki made a notable contribution as Leicester defied the odds to win the league in 2015/16
The 37-year-old Okazaki currently plays for the Belgian club Sint-Truiden, but is struggling with an injury
Okazaki went on to play for Huesca and Cartagena before joining Sint-Truiden.
On the international stage, Okazaki made 119 appearances for Japan and scored 50 goals, becoming his country’s third-highest goalscorer of all time.