Former Tottenham Hotspur and Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen has announced he will retire from professional football at the end of the ongoing 2024-25 season,” Afrosport reports.
The 37-year-old joined Spurs from Ajax in 2012 and made 315 competitive before leaving for Benfica in 2020 and currently Anderlecht since 2022.
Vertonghen retired from international football last year and is the record appearance holder for the Red Devils with 157 caps.
“I have noticed that it is becoming more and more difficult to prepare myself physically for training sessions and matches and to show myself as the player I want to be,” he said.
“Not only towards the fans and my fellow players, but also towards myself. That is why I will be stopping after this season.”
Vertonghen has won five titles in his career, four with Ajax, including two Eredivisie and Dutch Cup trophies, while he won the Liga Portugal with Benfica in 2023.
At Spurs, Vertonghen was part of the team that finished as runners-up in the EFL Cup in 2015, the Premier League in 2016 and the UEFA Champions League in 2019.
With Belgium, he helped what was considered the golden generation to a third-place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
