ALCANTARA TO RETIRE FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
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Thiago Alcantara has decided to retire from professional football.
Alcantara left Liverpool at the end of June following the expiration of his contract and he was expected to be a top transfer target for the Saudi Pro League.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Thiago has decided to retire from professional football rather than look for a new club.
The 33-year-old played for European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
At Barcelona, where he came up through the academy, he won four LaLiga titles and the Champions League before joining Bayern Munich in 2013 and winning seven Bundesliga titles and the Champions League again in 2020.
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After lifting the European cup for a second time and being named in the Champions League XI of the year, Liverpool signed him up for just £20million.
However, injuries hampered the Spaniard at Anfield throughout his four years at the club.
In his first three seasons, Alcantara managed 97 appearances but the last campaign was a nightmare, playing just four minutes as injuries left him sidelined.
It led to an emotional farewell at the end of last season at Liverpool where he joined Jurgen Klopp and Joel Matip in departing.
Born in Italy to Brazilian parents, Alcantara made his first appearance for Spain in a friendly against Italy on 10 August 2011, while his first competitive match was on 6 September 2011, in a Euro 2012 qualifying match 6–0 win against Liechtenstein.
Due to injury he missed Euro 2012, which Spain went on to win and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Alcantara was named in Spain’s 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup on 13 May of that year. However, two days later, he withdrew from the squad due to a knee ligament injury obtained while playing for Bayern in March.
Bayern Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said, “A young man who wanted to come back at the World Cup, and suddenly his dreams are burst. We will take care of him now and make sure he is fit at the start of the season.”
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