It must be heartbreaking for any player who has to retire from the game before they are mentally ready to, but it must also take a terrible injury to force them into it.
French defender Jeremy Mathieu has had a distinguished career that’s seen him play for Barcelona, Valencia and Toulouse, but a report from Record makes for sad reading.
They confirm that the defender who now plays for Sporting CP suffered a serious injury in training today, and his season is definitely over.
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It might be even worse, as they go on to suggest that he’s now considering hanging up his boots, but it might depend on how severe the injury is.
They also state that his contract is due to expire at the end of the season, but Sporting were prepared to offer him a one year extension, while he could also have the option to stay on as a coach with the youth teams.
He’s made nearly 600 senior appearances in his career and he won La Liga and the Champions League during his time at Barcelona, but this would be a sad way for him to go out.
It’s not been confirmed yet, so hopefully he does manage to recover and go out on his own terms.