Former Spain And Arsenal Playmaker Santi Cazorla Retires At 41

Former Spain international Santi Cazorla is retiring from soccer at age 41.

Cazorla made the announcement with a post on Instagram, ending a successful career of more than two decades.

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“Now that everything is ending, when the boots are being hung up, and the noise is turning into silence, everything fits together, because the ending wasn’t just anywhere, I was at home,” Cazorla said in a video on X.   

Cazorla had been playing with Spanish boyhood club Oviedo since 2023, helping it gain promotion to the first division a season ago. The club was relegated again this past campaign.

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He thrived with Villarreal and Arsenal, where he was a major contributor under coach Arsene Wenger from 2012-18. With Spain, the playmaker won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships.

Cazorla dealt with serious injuries throughout his career, including one that kept him from playing when Spain won the World Cup in 2010.