Football is a pretty unpredictable game, but some stories do tend to follow a certain script. A young, talented player emerges, and everyone immediately starts calling them ‘the next big thing’. The media attention, the massive contracts, the pressure to perform week in and week out – it’s a lot to ask. And for some, it proves too much. They reach the pinnacle of their careers and decide to walk away for reasons that have nothing to do with injuries or a loss of form.

Here are five of the most unforgettable retirement stories in the history of the game. Players who chose to give up football, driven by everything from spiritual awakenings to a desire for a ‘normal’ life.

The rock star

Most players would kill for a career like that of Pablo Daniel Osvaldo. The Argentinian was one talented striker, who played for top European clubs including Roma and Juventus, even representing the Italian national team. So when he retired in 2016 at the age of 30, it raised more than a few eyebrows. Why would a player in his prime walk away from the money and the fame? The answer, it turns out, was music.

Osvaldo’s final professional stint was actually at Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires, his boyhood club. His time there, however, was a disaster. He was kicked out after he was caught smoking in the dressing room following a match.

After this incident, he announced his retirement, turning down offers from multiple clubs in order to pursue his true passion. He formed a band called Barrio Viejo, explaining that he was tired of the rules and lack of freedom that came with being a professional footballer. In his own words, he preferred “asado [barbecue] and a beer to money”.

He did return to football in January 2020, joining the Argentinian club Banfield, but retired for a second time six months later and hasn’t returned to professional football since. However, he did play for Huracan’s over-35s in April, even scoring a goal in his first game.

The Hollywood actor

British footballer Vinnie Jones was a character long before he became a Hollywood actor. He was a key member of Wimbledon’s notorious ‘Crazy Gang’ in the 1980s and ’90s, known for his aggressive style and ‘hard man’ persona. He was more likely to get a red card than a goal and was often in the newspapers for his on-field behaviour.

He was quickly cast in Guy Ritchie’s 1999 cult crime-comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. This role led to a successful acting career, with Jones soon appearing in blockbuster films such as Snatch and Gone in 60 Seconds.

Since then, he has continued to act, featuring in Netflix’s The Gentlemen in 2024.

The pro-wrestler

Tim Wiese was a goalkeeper who spent the prime of his career at Werder Bremen and earned six caps for the German national team. After a quiet end to his football career in 2014, Wiese’s retirement took a truly unexpected turn.

He decided to begin training to become a professional wrestler with the WWE. He made his debut in 2016, with a new physique that was almost unrecognisable: he added 40 kilos of muscle!

The better life searcher

The man who feared the apocalypse

You think you’ve heard it all, and then there’s Carlos Roa. The guy was a world-class goalkeeper, a key player for his club, RCD Mallorca, and a hero for his country, Argentina, after his heroics in the 1998 World Cup – where he saved a crucial penalty, knocking England out of the tournament.

Nonetheless, at just 30 years old, he decided to call it quits. Why? Because he was convinced the world was going to end.

Roa was a devout Seventh-day Adventist and was so certain the apocalypse was coming on New Year’s Day 2000 that he sold his possessions and moved to an isolated retreat in Argentina with his family, to prepare for the end of days and become one with God. When the new millennium arrived and the world was still spinning, Roa’s doomsday conviction was shattered and he returned to football later the same year.