Santi Cazorla has brought his playing career to a close, confirming his retirement from football at the age of 41. The former Arsenal and Spain midfielder said he never stopped believing he would return to the sport on his own terms.
Quick facts
- Santi Cazorla has announced his retirement from football at 41.
- He spent his final season with boyhood club Real Oviedo.
- Cazorla previously won European Championship titles with Spain (2008 and 2012).
- He earned 81 international caps for Spain.
- Cazorla made 180 appearances for Arsenal across all competitions, scoring 29 goals.
In a message posted on X, Cazorla reflected on his motivation throughout the years. “I never stopped trying. And in the end, I came back,” he wrote, adding that his intention was not to simply finish a chapter, but to relive what drew him to the game in the first place.
He also described a sense of completion as his career winds down. “And now, when the lights go down, when the boots are hung up and the noise fades into silence, everything falls into place,” he said, before concluding that his ending was “at home.”
Cazorla ended his 23-year journey after his final season with Real Oviedo, the club he grew up supporting. His time there came after he helped deliver promotion to LaLiga, following a successful push that ended a 24-year absence from Spain’s top division.
On the international stage, Cazorla collected 81 caps for Spain. He was part of the squads that lifted the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, though injury prevented him from featuring in Spain’s winning 2010 World Cup campaign.
In England, Cazorla enjoyed a major six-year spell with Arsenal in north London. Across all competitions, he made 180 appearances and scored 29 goals, joining the club from Malaga in 2012.
During his Arsenal years, he also played a key role in the club’s cup success. Arsenal won the FA Cup in consecutive seasons in 2014 and 2015, before a run of injuries ultimately pushed him out of the Premier League in 2018.
