Thu 24 March 2022, 11:30
Tottenham HotspurOur legendary former striker Jermain Defoe has today (Thursday 24 March) announced his retirement as a player, aged 39.
Initially signed from West Ham United in 2004, where he’d made his senior debut as a 17-year-old and also spent time on loan at AFC Bournemouth, ‘JD’ scored on his first outing for us in a 4-3 thriller against Portsmouth in the Premier League and went on to score 143 goals in 363 appearances in our colours across two spells over the next decade – he spent a year away at Portsmouth between 2008 and 2009 – making him the sixth-highest goalscorer in our history. He was also briefly our top goalscorer of all time in Europe after overtaking Martin Chivers in 2013, before Harry Kane subsequently took that record.
— Jermain Defoe OBE (@IAmJermainDefoe) March 24, 2022
Jermain departed for the MLS and Toronto in 2014, only to come back to the Premier League a year later with Sunderland.
A return to AFC Bournemouth followed before a move to Scotland and Glasgow Rangers in 2018/19, where he helped them clinch the SPL title in 2020/21.
He returned to Sunderland on a short-term deal in January of this year and made a further seven appearances for the Black Cats in League One, taking his overall tally to 100 games exactly for them.
Capped 57 times by England, for whom he played and scored at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, he netted 20 times for the Three Lions and finishes his career with an astounding 305 goals in 762 club matches to his name.
A superbly talented player and a joyful character who endeared himself to fans across the game and especially here at Spurs, JD has continued to work tirelessly off the pitch in aid of worthy causes over many years – he was awarded an OBE in 2018 for his charitable work.
Congratulations on a wonderful playing career, Jermain.
