Football is a short but sweet career in every sense of the phrase. Of course, the reality of being a professional footballer is more difficult than it appears to be, especially for those not making the big bucks in the top leagues, but it is the career we all wanted to fall into as fans growing up. Very few are fortunate enough to make it to the professional game, so when it's time to hang up the boots, it's an endlessly difficult decision to make.
There is a small minority of elite names that decided to get the boots down from the loft and return to the pitch for one last hurrah. There are some surprising names on this list, so be sure to read on and find out more about the following 13 stars who have come out of retirement. Following an illustrious career that saw Petr Cech become one of the greatest goalkeepers of the 21st Century from 1999 to 2019, the veteran stopper took up an advisory role with former club .
Strangely, it emerged that Cech had been included in Chelsea's 25-man Premier League squad for 2020/21, which the club confirmed was on an emergency, non-contract basis. Cech won 12 major trophies for the Blues, including the Champions League in 2012. He returned in the training kit and out on the pitch, making his comeback with the under-23s in the Premier League 2 before retiring again.
Petr Cech's Premier League Stats 433 202 Chelsea, Arsenal Mario Gomez has revealed the brilliance of Petr Cech after he shone in the 2012 Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich. At an age when most footballers are more than ready to put their feet up and bin their boots, Milla was making the biggest wave of his career. Aged 38, the Cameroonian forward came out of international retirement for the 1990 World Cup, having initially moved away from the national team in 1988.
That was at the request of the Cameroon President, Paul Biya. Milla headed to the World Cup and bagged four goals to help his nation reach the quarter-final, with his iconic corner flag celebration setting the tone for creative celebrations moving forward. They lost to England in the last eight but beat defending champions, Argentina, in their opening match of the tournament, becoming one of the stories of the competition.
American winger Robbie Rogers retired aged 25 following a spell with Leeds in 2013 and heroically came out as gay, making him the first professional male player in Britain to come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990. However, later that year, in May, he returned and signed for the LA Galaxy, and became the first openly gay male athlete to win a major professional team sports honour in the the following year, when they lifted the MLS Cup in 2014. He retired again in 2017 following a lengthy struggle with injuries.
Rogers made 18 international appearances throughout his career, scoring twice. A guide to how the 2026 World Cup will be run. Gareth Barry has the record for the most Premier League appearances, playing for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion across his 22-year career.
He was a Premier League winner in 2012 as well as an FA Cup champion the year before. In 2020, he retired at the Baggies after three years at the club. Four years later, though, it was announced that Barry had returned to play village football for Hurstpierpoint, who play in the 11th tier of the English pyramid.
Speaking about the former England midfielder, Hurstpierpoint's chairman and first-team manager, Dudley Christensen, said: "He came along to training and loved us. I don't think he's going to be around to play every week, but he's a great signing and he's going to raise our profile. "I'll let him do what he wants to do.
He can play where he likes, but I expect he'll sit in front of the defence and be a shield." 5 Players with the Most Premier League Appearances 1 Gareth Barry Midfielder 653 2 James Milner Midfielder 634 3 Ryan Giggs Winger 632 4 Frank Lampard Midfielder 611 5 David James Goalkeeper 572 Jurgen Klinsmann is best known for his two spells with Tottenham Hotspur, including in 1995 when he finished runner-up in the Ballon d'Or. The German looked to be done with his playing career following his loan return to Spurs from Sampdoria in 1998, retiring at the end of the season.
He strangely reversed that decision some five years later, though, coming out of retirement to play for amateur United States outfit Orange County Blue Star, who played in the fourth tier of US football. He played eight matches for them before taking up a position in coaching a year later. Many German players have starred in the Premier League, such as Jurgen Klinsmann and Mesut Ozil.
But who has made the most appearances? Quite possibly the greatest North American footballer ever, Donovan called time on an already legendary career in 2012, having left behind a solid legacy in the United States and Europe. It wasn't enough, though, and an injury crisis at former club LA Galaxy tempted him into a 2016 return, moving away from his role as an analyst. That brief return resulted in Donovan getting the itch; he returned from retirement again in 2018 to play for Liga MX side Club Leon and would also play indoor soccer in 2019 with the San Diego Shockers, ripping it up in his debut season.
MetLife Stadium is the venue for the 2026 World Cup final and has a capacity of over 80,000. One of the greatest players of all time, Zico simply couldn't shake the itch despite swapping football for politics following his 1989 retirement and paused his new career to make a return - in Japan. Zico dug the boots out of the loft and took them over to Kashima to join second-tier outfit Sumitomo Metals - now Kashima Antlers.
He remained there until 1994 and left a legend due to the professionalism and commitment he showed during his time in Japan, becoming a Japanese footballing icon and helping to put Kashima on the football map. He remains at the Japanese club today as a technical adviser. He must have known his opinion would cause a stir, but he gave it anyway Denilson was officially the world's most expensive player in 1998 when he made a £21.
5 million move to Real Betis. He failed to live up to the record-breaking moniker, scoring 14 times in nearly 200 appearances, but was able to win the Copa del Rey in 2005. His career as a journeyman winger came to an end in 2010 with Greek side Kavala.
That was until he announced a shock return to the professional game in 2022 - twelve years on from his initial retirement - signing for Brazilian side Ibis at the age of 44. The 2002 World Cup winner now works as a pundit. From Ronaldo Nazario to Rivaldo, Brazil's conveyor belt of attacking talent is simply unrivalled in the world of football.
Lehmann had already been an incredible servant to for his role in their 'Invincibles' season of 2003/04 and eventually retired in 2010 after a spell with VfB Stuttgart. However, after a year with his feet up, the iconic German stopper was pulling on the Arsenal shirt once again out of the blue, coming out of retirement to steer the Gunners away from a goalkeeper crisis in 2011. Signed again as a backup to Manuel Almunia, Lehmann would end up playing Premier League football that April as the Spaniard was injured in the warmup against Blackpool.
Lehmann won his 200th and final appearance for the club. Jens Lehmann's Arsenal Career Years 2003-2008 Appearances 200 Goals conceded 168 Clean sheets 80 Major honours 2 Arsenal are the third most successful club in England and have had some of the best goalkeepers in the world play for them over the years. Argentina's heroic goalkeeper at the 1998 World Cup, Carlos Roa, announced himself on the international stage by not conceding a goal throughout the group stages and then saving a decisive penalty against England in the last 16.
Throughout his career, he won three trophies for three different clubs. He became more commonly known, though, when it emerged that Roa was to retire from football in 1999, aged 30, to take a religious retreat as he was convinced the world was going to end in 2000. Seriously.
He then returned to football after realising the world was not ending, at which point his top-class form had gone. Argentina beat England in the last-16 of the 1998 World Cup, a match which saw David Beckham sent off It was a sad day in 2019 when hung up his boots, and football lost the man who had made a career out of cutting inside and beating defenders with ease from the right-hand side. That's what made a sudden 2020 comeback all the more emphatic when the legendary Dutchman reversed his decision a year earlier and signed with Eredivisie outfit Groningen.
A seven-month injury layoff ruined his return season, but he notched two assists in his first game in the starting lineup in May 2021 before retiring again. We can only wonder what Robben would be doing now if such a big injury didn't ruin his return. Arjen Robben proved he is still an incredible athlete in retirement at 39 as he ran the Rotterdam Marathon at an incredible pace.
The greatest, most influential footballer ever in the eyes of many, it's surprising to learn that Cruyff felt he had to come out of retirement for financial reasons in 1978. A series of poor investments following his initial retirement saw him return to the game, signing for the Los Angeles Aztecs and pocketing a significant sum of money in the process, which he confessed swayed his reasoning. It wasn't a one-and-done, though, as the iconic Dutchman stuck around until 1984, which included a second spell with Ajax, where he won the Eredivisie an additional two times.
A peculiar twist to the tale of the three-time Ballon d'Or winner. We take a look at why the Dutch maestro was so good at playing the beautiful game. Nobody saw this one coming in 2012; not even 's first-team squad knew of Paul Scholes' desire and intention to return, which was kept a big secret.
The legendary midfielder hung up his boots in 2011 but stuck around at Carrington, keeping himself in top shape with the reserve team. Scholes had developed an itch to play again, and, with an injury crisis to United's midfield at the turn of the New Year, he officially came out of retirement, donning the number 22 shirt. In his return game, Scholes - wearing a pair of £35 football boots and having not told sponsors Nike about the secret return - bossed it off the bench in a 3-2 derby win over Manchester City.
He capped off the season by signing an extension through to the summer of 2013, and retired again at the end of the following campaign, having lifted his 11th Premier League title. Paul Scholes wants one man to replace Gareth Southgate for England and believes it could benefit two parties..
