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Varane is one of 7 big names to make this list.

7 footballers with the highest market value when they retired: Varane, Kroos…

Every footballer retires eventually – but former Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid players are among those to have ended their careers while still valued very highly.

Whether they’ve reached the very top of the game and played in the Champions League, or they’ve spent years flitting around the lower leagues, every football ends up hanging up their boots and calling it a day.

Transfermarkt recently released the list of the figures who were the most valuable when they walked away from the beautiful game – and here are the top seven of them.

=6. Toni Kroos

One of the greatest midfielders of a generation, if not of all time, has retired from the game after Germany’s European Championship quarter-final defeat against Spain.

Kroos did win both La Liga and the Champions League during his final season at Real Madrid, but sadly success on home soil at Euro 2024 eluded him.

He bowed out of the sport with a market value of £10million. Peanuts.

=6. Thiago Alcantara

Thiago announced his retirement in July 2024 after leaving Liverpool at the end of the previous campaign.

The 33-year-old midfielder, who also played for Barcelona, Bayern Munich and the Spanish national side, was dogged by injury problems during his time on Merseyside but remained a peerless passer of the football and was valued at £10million.

5. Philipp Lahm

One of the greatest defenders in football history, Lahm retired at the end of the 2016-17 season at the age of 33.

Having won every trophy in the club game with Bayern Munich, and lifted the World Cup as captain for Germany in 2014, Lahm certainly didn’t leave the stage with any sense of unfulfilment.

“I’ve been considering it for more than the past year,” he said when announcing his decision.

“You have to keep testing yourself, you have to keep asking yourself ‘how is it’, day by day, week by week on the training pitch, what’s the feeling you have.”

Lahm was considered to be worth £11million in the spring of 2017.

4. Zinedine Zidane

Everybody remembers the final days of Zidane’s career, leading a seasoned France side to the 2006 World Cup Final with magnificent solo performances against Spain and Brazil.

You’ll also remember the final act of his career was ramming his forehead into the chest of Marco Materazzi. Zidane was worth approximately £12.5million when he left the Olympiastadion pitch at the age of 34.


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3. Sergio Aguero

At 33, Aguero had already seen out most of his career, winning multiple trophies and becoming one of the greatest Premier League goalscorers while playing for Manchester City.

But he still had ambitions to fulfil at Barcelona when forced into retirement in December 2021, following the diagnosis of a heart condition.

Announcing the decision to retire, Aguero said: “I’m proud of the career I’ve had and am fortunate it is happening to me now rather than before.

“I don’t know what awaits me in the next life but I know there are a lot of people who love me and want the best for me.”

The prolific striker was worth £15million when he ended his career, indicating he still had plenty to give before fate intervened.

Sergio Aguero celebrates.

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the top 35 non-European Champions League goalscorers?

2. Enock Mwepu

Mwepu had several standout performances for Brighton during his first season with the club and was only expected to get better in the following years, reflected in his market value of £18million.

In October 2022 the midfielder retired from professional football at the age of 24 after being diagnosed with a rare hereditary heart condition. He now coaches the Brighton Under-9s.

1. Raphael Varane

Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and France defender Varane retired from football in September 2024 at the age of 31.

Varane joined Italian side Como on a free transfer in July but suffered a knee injury on his debut against Sampdoria last month.

“I hold myself to the highest standard, I want to go out strong, not just holding on to the game,” he wrote on Instagram. “It takes a big dose of courage to listen to your heart and your instinct.”

The defender won multiple trophies including 18 with Real Madrid, the World Cup with France and last season’s FA Cup with Manchester United.

He was definitely one of the best of his era and was valued at £20million before calling it a day.