On March 23, Beijing time, a number of British media confirmed that Defoe, the former premier League's top scorer, announced that he would retire after his contract expired this summer.
It is understood that after retiring, Defoe will not work as a coach, and his next identity will be football commentator!
The 39-year-old has scored 162 goals in the Premier League, ranking ninth in the League's all-time top scorer list, and although he has stood on the bench many times, his goal efficiency is terrifying.
Defoe used to wear the England national team's No. 10 shirt, even though he wasn't an absolute mainstay. During his 13 years with the England national team, Defoe played for the team in the World Cup and the European Championship, making 57 appearances and scoring 20 goals, of which only 18 were starters.
Defoe played less than 2,100 minutes for the national team, but he averaged one goal every 118 minutes, far more efficient than super goalscorers such as Wayne Rooney, Reinkel, Bobby Charlton and Irving.
Defoe's career began at West Ham, where his stature did not have an advantage, with a height of 1.71 metres, he was slightly thin and did not have any advantage in the confrontation. However, Defoe's explosiveness, speed and extremely sensitive sense of smell in front of the goal made him a slightly different shooter in the Premier League.
In 2004, Defoe joined Tottenham, and during his four years with the team, Defoe made 139 appearances and scored 43 goals, returning to Tottenham after a brief one-season at Portsmouth where he played until 2014.
After that, Defoe put on Sunderland's jersey. During his time with Black Cats, Sunderland became the team's number one star. Not only that, but the story of him and little fan Bradley Lowey has also touched fans around the world.
Lowe is a black cat fan, also a defoe fan, unfortunately suffering from cancer, before Sunderland's home game, Defoe held Lowe on the scene, Lowe also put on the black cat jersey.
In general, the story of players and fans should end here. But Defoe and Lowe became close friends, and when they didn't have to train or play, Defoe often visited Lowe's house, and their friendship touched too many fans.
Unfortunately, Lowey's life was frozen at the age of 6, and after Lowe's death, Defoe remembered his friend on social media: "You just left, I have begun to miss you." 」 ”
Leaving Sunderland, Defoe also played for Bournemouth and then the Glasgow Rangers in the Soviet Super League. While playing for Rangers, Defoe was a player-coach, and after only 2 appearances, head coach Gerrard switched to Villa, Van Bronckhorst entered with a new coaching staff, and Defoe had to leave.
At the age of 39, Defoe chose to return to the roots, he returned to Sunderland again, becoming "Elvis Presley" again, and Defoe's most recent game for Sunderland was a 0-0 draw with Lincoln, who came off the bench for 19 minutes.
Hopefully, Defoe can contribute more goals in the remaining limited player career and look forward to the perfect end to his career!