Footballers who have retired in 2026: Ramsey, Milner, Costa…

Julho 21, 2026 lojamais44@gmail.com

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We are halfway through 2026 and well-known former Chelsea, Barcelona and Liverpool players are among the big names to have retired this year.

Time is a curse for a football fan, as a host of players we have watched for major periods of their career call it a day and hang up their boots.

We’ve looked into 11 players who have called it a day in 2026.

James Milner

No Premier League player has ever made more appearances than Milner, who broke Gareth Barry’s long-standing record in February 2026.

The midfielder made his Leeds debut in 2002, sharing a pitch with sepia-toned names like Nigel Winterburn and Lucas Radebe.

His career with Leeds, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Manchester City, Liverpool, Brighton and England was nothing less than stellar and Milner called it a day this year at the age of 40.

Aaron Ramsey

started his career at Cardiff City before a 2008 move to Arsenal, where he won three FA Cups – scoring the winning goal in two of those finals – during his 11 years with the Gunners.

He then had spells with Juventus, Nice, Rangers, a second stint at Cardiff and Pumas UNAM before ending his career in April.

Ramsey is now manager of League One side Oxford United.

Diego Costa

One of the biggest sh*thouses in recent football history, Costa was a menace during his days with Atletico Madrid and Chelsea.

He played his last professional match in 2024, but it wasn’t until earlier this year when he appeared on a podcast that he confirmed his retirement.

Oscar

Oscar was just 25 when he signed for Shanghai Port, leaving Chelsea for a £60million fee and plenty of raised eyebrows.

The Brazilian spent seven years in China to the glee of his bank manager, although a player of such talent should really have been playing in a more competitive league.

He spent the last few months of his career at Sao Paulo, before retiring in April. This was due to a heart condition which led to him collapsing and requiring CPR in a training session.

Ashley Young

Young brought the curtain down on an exceptional 23-year career in May, retiring at the age of 40 after a final season with Ipswich Town in the Championship.

Starting as a winger with Watford and Aston Villa, Young gradually became a defender during his Manchester United days and won a Serie A title with Inter Milan in 2021.

He was also an important member of England’s 2018 World Cup squad.

Dimitri Payet

One of the biggest ‘Streets Won’t Forget’ footballers in Premier League history after his spell at West Ham in the mid-2010s, Payet retired earlier this year.

The French playmaker spent the final years of his playing days at Vasco de Gama, still capable of scoring outrageous free-kicks. A maverick in an increasingly systemised sport.

Kasper Schmeichel

Most famously associated with Leicester’s 2016 title win, Schmeichel retired in May 2026 after suffering a shoulder injury a few months previously.

Then with Celtic, it was expected that Schemeichel’s surgery would keep him out of action for up to a year anyway.

Aged 39, the son of legendary goalkeeper Peter enjoyed a hugely successful career in his own right.

Cesar Azpilicueta

A loyal servant at Chelsea between 2012 and 2023, Azpilicueta ended his career in May after helping Sevilla avoid relegation.

The full-back made over 500 appearances for Chelsea, the sixth most in the club’s history, and appeared as a BBC pundit during the World Cup.

Marco van Ginkel

An eight-times capped Netherlands international, Van Ginkel represented big clubs like Chelsea and AC Milan, but his careers at both clubs were short.

In England, he also played for Stoke, but the midfielder featured in his home country for the majority of his career, playing more than 100 games for both PSV Eindhoven and Vitesse.

At 33 years of age, Van Ginkel has hung up his boots.

Miralem Pjanic

Pjanic had a very successful career at club level, playing for giants such as Roma, Juventus and Barcelona.

The Bosnian won seven trophies with Juve, one with Barca and was named Roma’s footballer of the year in 2014.

At international level, he’ll go down as a legend, having represented his country over 100 times, while he contributed to two goals in his three World Cup games.

Pjanic technically retired in the final days of 2025, but who cares for such semantics? Any excuse for us to relive his glory days at Lyon.

Mamadou Sakho

Sakho left Paris Saint-Germain for a Liverpool team which wasn’t particularly good while he was there, and in doing so ended his spell of winning trophies: four at PSG and not a single one in his career after that.

The Reds finished second in Sakho’s first campaign there, before slipping to sixth and then eighth in the Premier League for the following two seasons.

Sakho was on the club’s books as they finished fourth the next season, though he was on loan at Crystal Palace when that happened.

He would move permanently to Palace, netting Liverpool a healthy fee, then back to France with Montpellier, before his final spell in professional football with Torpedo Kutaisi in Georgia.

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club to win the Championship since 1992?

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