Jan Vertonghen: Former Tottenham defender to retire at end of 2024-25 season
Anderlecht captain Jan Vertonghen, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, has confirmed he is retiring from playing at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Vertonghen made 315 appearances for Spurs between 2012 and 2020, helping the club reach the Champions League final in 2019.
The 37-year-old retired from international football last year, having made a national record 157 senior appearances for Belgium across 17 years.
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The defender has played for Anderlecht in his native Belgium since leaving Benfica in 2022, but has made just five first-team appearances this campaign due to injury.
'I have noticed that it is becoming more and more difficult to prepare myself physically for training sessions and matches and to show myself as the player I want to be,' Vertonghen said on Tuesday.
'Not only towards the fans and my fellow players, but also towards myself. That is why I will be stopping after this season.'
Vertonghen won the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup twice with Ajax before joining Spurs, and after leaving the north London club — where twice being named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year — the centre-back won the Portuguese league title with Benfica.
Anderlecht are currently fourth in the Belgian top division and eight points behind league leaders Genk.
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