10 Patrick Kluivert

Retired at 32

 

Kluivert was just a teenager when he scored the winner for Ajax in a 1-0 victory over Juventus in the 1995 Champions League final, cementing his status as a club icon despite being only 18 years of age. After shining at the Eredivisie outfit alongside a whole host of other up-and-coming stars, the striker moved to AC Milan, then Barcelona, where he thrived, scoring at least 15 goals in six straight La Liga campaigns.

He was the Netherlands' all-time leading scorer with 40 goals until Robin van Persie broke his record in 2013. Following his departure from Barca, though, he never quite scaled the same height and went through four clubs in four years, with Lille the last stop of his career in 2008, aged 32.

Alan Shearer

Retired at 29

 

Considering Alan Shearer did not finish his club career until he was 35, his international retirement six years earlier, in hindsight, looks remarkably premature. The striker was prolific for England too, scoring 30 times in 63 caps and netting in three international tournaments.

His best moments came at Euro 96, where he scored four times but, following the next edition four years later, he chose to hang up his Three Lions boots even though he still had plenty to offer. There was speculation he would make himself available for the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, but that proved to be unfounded.

8 Raphael Varane

Retired at 31

 

One of the most decorated defenders in Champions League history, Raphael Varane, bowed out of the game at the age of 31. The defender called it quits only shortly after embarking on a new challenge in the beautiful city of Como in Northern Italy due to a serious injury.

Varane rose to the top of the game rapidly, joining Real Madrid after only one season with the first team at RC Lens in his native France. While at Real Madrid, Varane became an important part of the defensive unit that was key to the side winning three Champions League titles in a row, adding several La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies along the way for good measure. His move to Manchester United wasn't quite as successful but he still performed at a good level.

7 Just Fontaine

Retired at 28

While Miroslav Klose's record of 16 career World Cup goals spread across four editions from 2002 to 2014 is potentially achievable—albeit extremely challenging to surpass—surely no one will beat Fontaine's 13 strikes scored during just the one tournament.

The 1958 World Cup in Sweden was undoubtedly his crowning glory, with his goals coming in just six outings, but the Frenchman was deadly in front of goal throughout his career, scoring 165 goals in 200 Ligue 1 matches. Perhaps with modern practices, he may have been able to overcome fitness issues, but alas, aged just 28, Fontaine was forced to retire in 1962 with a recurring injury, marking the end of a true great's career.

6 Toni Kroos

Retiring at 34

 

With Toni Kroos' contract expiring in the summer of 2024, the midfielder decided to call it time on his incredible career. Whether it was with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, or the German national team, he won just about everything there was to win over the years and has proven that he still has plenty to offer even at 34 years old.

Despite having a fine final year with Los Blancos—winning La Liga and the Champions League—he decided to hang his boots up and while he's accomplished so much already, there's a sense that he still had plenty he could achieve on the football pitch. There have been few midfielders quite on his level over the last 15 years. It's a shame he couldn't taste glory one more time with Germany, as they were knocked out by Spain at the quarterfinal stage of Euro 2024.

5 Eric Cantona

Retired at 30

 

While the Class of '92 was the foundation for Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United revolution, Cantona was its leader. The Frenchman had struggled to find a home throughout a turbulent career, and his France career was in tatters by the time he arrived at Old Trafford in 1992.

Over the next five years, however, Cantona inspired United to four Premier League titles, cementing his legacy as one of English football's best imports. After the last of those league wins in 1997, however, the forward hung up his boots, aged just 30. In a typically self-assured statement, he explained: "I have played professional football for 13 years, which is a long time. I now wish to do other things. I always planned to retire when I was at the top and, at Manchester United, I have reached the pinnacle of my career." Well, those other things were namely acting—he popped up in a Liam Gallagher music video a few years ago—though he also won a Beach Soccer World Cup with France to boot.

4 Marco van Basten

Retired at 31

During the 1980s and early 90s, van Basten was one of the most formidable strikers on the planet, scoring 282 goals in just 379 club games for Ajax and AC Milan. That form saw him win the Ballon d'Or on three occasions, while his goals fired the Netherlands to the 1988 European Championship title, their first and only international trophy.

Unfortunately, though, he struggled with an ankle injury, which required three surgeries. The last came after an aggressive tackle from Basile Boli in the 1993 Champions League final—he never played for the Rossoneri again and retired aged 31. He recently spoke about how he would have managed had he been able to play a little longer, saying: "I would have liked to see how things turned out if I could have played until the age of 38; I think I would have been better [than Cristiano Ronaldo]."

3 Michel Platini

Retired at 32

Younger fans will likely only know Platini as a morally questionable former UEFA president, but he was one of the best players on the planet back in his heyday. A three-time Ballon d'Or winner, all in consecutive years, the Frenchman won all there was to win at club level and scored nine goals in five matches as France triumphed at Euro 84 on home soil.

Just three years later, though, the former Juventus and St. Etienne playmaker retired at the age of just 32, although he did make a brief foray back into the game—for one day, to be exact—to represent Kuwait against the Soviet Union in an international friendly way back in 1988.

2 Zinedine Zidane

Retired at 34

 

Zinedine Zidane was 34 by the time he retired after the 2006 World Cup, which is a good age to do so. However, his performances at the tournament suggested he had plenty more left in the tank. The France playmaker was at his irresistible best throughout the tournament as Les Bleus reached the final. It was meant to be the perfect end to Zidane's illustrious career, but it turned into a nightmare when he infamously headbutted Marco Materazzi in injury time and was sent off as a result. Italy prevailed on penalties, with Zidane's final match therefore ending in disgrace and defeat.

Despite his actions, he was awarded the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player the following day. Given all he achieved in the game, it was a shame his career ended in such controversy—his legacy deserved more than that. At the very least, he has maintained his legendary status and contributed to the game as a brilliant manager, winning the Champions League three times with Real Madrid.

1 George Best

Retired at 28

 

At the peak of his powers, Best was one of the greatest players on the planet. At his worst, his off-the-field problems overshadowed the talent that he possessed. The Northern Ireland international helped Manchester United win the European Cup in 1968, while scoring 179 goals in 410 games for the Red Devils.