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Defoe retires
Former England and Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe has announced his retirement from football after 22 years in the game.
Defoe, 39, scored 162 times in 496 Premier League appearances and earned 57 caps for England, netting 20 goals in the process.
Across two spells at Tottenham he struck 143 times in 362 games, while also playing for West Ham, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Rangers and Sunderland.
He returned to the Stadium of Light in January and featured seven times for the Black Cats in League One, including last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Lincoln.
But the striker has now opted to call time on a career that started for the Hammers way back in 1999.
In a statement, he said: “Football will always remain in my blood, and it gives me great pride and satisfaction to look back on the blessed career that I’ve had.
“I now look forward to spending some quality time with my friends and family before moving forward on this next chapter in my career.
“Thank you to all the fans from each club I’ve played for. The love I have received and endured throughout my career will never be forgotten, and I will always have a special bond with you all.
“Thank you also to my amazing team-mates, coaches and staff for playing such an integral part in my career.
“Lastly, I want to say thank you to my mum. You gave me a ball at two years old and you made me believe my dream could happen. All that I am is because of you, and I owe everything to you and God.”
Proving the doubters wrong
After earning his first England call-up, Kyle Walker-Peters admits proving the doubters wrong is a big motivation for him.
The right-back moved to Southampton permanently from Tottenham in August 2020, having spent the second half of the 2019-20 season on loan at St Mary’s.
He has continued to impress for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side and believes the Three Lions selection shows Spurs were wrong to allow him to leave.
When asked about proving people wrong, he said: “Yes, that’s what I want to do.
“I wanted to go to Southampton because I know they believe in me and wanted me to play regularly.
“I proved a few people wrong which is nice. I am focusing on performing for Southampton and to keep on improving.
On his Spurs breakthrough, he added: “It was definitely something I’ve really learned from. I had some really good performances but then didn’t play again.
“I didn’t let it dishearten me, I looked at it more as the process.”
