5 talented footballers who retired too early

Sometimes, footballers overstay their welcome and play long past their prime. Others, like Paolo Maldini and Lothar Matthaus, play on at the top of the game until the age of almost 40.

At the other end of the spectrum, we have footballers like Hidetoshi Nakata and Brian Laudrup who hang up their boots much before one expect them to, be it for personal reasons or injuries.

Sometimes, despite having a few years left to give to the game, a footballer feels he is done with the game as a player, with Zinedine Zindane being one of the most notable examples.

Zidane won the Golden Ball in the 2006 World Cup but immediately called time on his career, perhaps partially due to the infamous headbutt incident.

Zidane might have been 34, but his retirement still elicited howls of shock from around the world, mainly because he was still at the top of his game.

Whatever may be the reason, these five footballers left the game behind after engendering surprise among fans and a lingering regret about what could have been, had they gone on to play for some more time.

5 talented footballers who retired too early

#5 Hidetoshi Nakata - 29

Hidetoshi Nakata retired before turning 30 but will go down in history as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time. At the 1998 World Cup, Nakata stood out despite Japan not living up to potential and he went on to play two more World Cups and two Olympics for the Asian giants.

His club career was even more illustrious as he became only the second Japanese to play in the Serie A when he joined Perugia after the 98 WC. He won the Scudetto with Roma and the Italian Cup with Parma. He decided to quit the game after falling out of love for it and was quoted as saying it had become too much of a business and players were playing for money, not fun.

Nakata was declared the Man of the Match in the last game he played, the 2006 World Cup encounter against Croatia. The stylish footballer would go on to have a career as a model and businessman.

#4 Eric Cantona - 30

It is no surprise that Eric Cantona finds himself on this list. Football's very own mad genius, King Cantona retired after the most successful spell of his career with Manchester United where he won four Premier League titles.

The forward played a crucial role in bringing United to the summit of the game in England and made the famous No. 7 jersey his own. Fans loved his personality which was passionate and quirky, even though he often fell foul of the officials.

King Eric, as he was called, remains one of the most loved footballers who have played for the storied club and went on to become an actor, and even dabbled in beach football after retirement. Like Nakata, Cantona confessed that he lost his passion for the sport and called time on his career.

Not for life though, as his recent speeches suggest. While receiving the UEFA President's Award in 2019, he quoted King Lear and provided a rambling exposition about life and society as the crowd listened in, stunned.

#3 Andre Schurrle - 29

In 2014, Andre Schurrle, just 23, had the world at his feet. He scored in the epic World Cup semi-final against Brazil and provided the assist to the winning goal in the final as Germany won the competition. Belief that the life of a footballer can be cruel is epitomised by Schurrle's story.

The wide forward hung up his boots earlier this year, admitting that the loneliness and mental demands of the game were proving too much for him. Another one who left the game when he had lost all vestiges of fun in it, Schurrle won a Premier League with Chelsea in 2014-15 and is a two-time winner of the German Cup.

#2 Marco Van Basten - 30

One of the greatest footballers ever to have played the game, Marco van Basten actually played his last match aged 28 before finally giving up on the game two years later.

Despite his early retirement, van Basten won the Ballon d'Or three times and won the European Cup twice as part of a great AC Milan team, with whom he also won three Scudettos.

Van Basten was a complete striker with dazzling goal-scoring ability and an astonishing array of skill-sets, netting 277 times in 227 games during his career played out at Ajax and Milan. He also won a European Championship with Netherlands, for whom he turned out 58 times.

He still ranks highly in many all-time footballers lists. Unfortunately, his career was blighted by several injuries and he couldn't recover from a serious ankle injury. It was a tragic loss for the game.

Van Basten moved from a footballer to a manager after his retirement.

#1 Just Fontaine - 28

Just Fontaine's story is even more of a what could have been that van Basten's. While van Basten ruled the European game for a while, the charismatic French striker only played in one World Cup which made him a legend. In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the prolific footballer netted 13 times in six matches - a record for a single edition that stands till today.

Fontaine was a prolific goal-scorer whenever and wherever he played, scoring a hat-trick for the Les Bleus on his debut and netting 121 times in six seasons for Reims in Ligue 1. He scored an astounding 30 times for France in 21 games. In 1962, Fontaine's career as a footballer was over due to a recurring injury.

He came like a blaze and left like one. His early retirement did not stop Pele from naming him in his list of greatest living footballers in 2004. Who knows what would have been if sports science was as equipped then as it is now and Fontaine played into his 30s.

Edited by Alex Turk