Theo Walcott retires as ex-Arsenal star ends football career with classy touch
Former Arsenal star Theo Walcott has announced his retirement from football after 18 years in style with a classy social media video, as he walks away from the game after leaving Southampton.
Now aged 34, Walcott left the Saints at the end of last season following the South Coast club's relegation from the Premier League. He had been in training with League One side Reading, but has now decided to hang up his boots and end his senior career, which spanned almost two decades.
Walcott was born in Stanmore, London but spent his childhood in Berkshire with his first breakthrough in football seeing him join Newbury before being signed by Swindon Town, aged 11. He spent only six months there before leaving for Southampton after he rejected a chance to join Chelsea.
The forward's rise to prominence was rapid, signing a sponsorship agreement with manufacturer Nike, aged just 14, and starring for the Saints youth team that reached the FA Youth Cup final. He became the club's youngest ever reserve player at 15 and the following year, was promoted to the first-team squad.
Aged 16 years and 143 days, he became Southampton's youngest ever first-team player and his rise to fame saw him named amongst the top three finalists for the prestigious BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2005. That was nothing compared to six months later, when he was included in England's World Cup squad, aged 17.
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By that stage, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal had signed the teenage sensation in a transfer deal which, including add-ons, was valued at £12.5million. Despite not featuring in the Gunners senior team that campaign nor having won a senior international cap, England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson called him up to the England World Cup squad that summer.
Walcott joined Arsenal in January 2006 - going on to spend 12 years at the club (Getty)He didn't feature in the tournament, but Walcott’s remarkable career progression continued as he featured in Arsenal’s opening game of the 2006/07 season against Aston Villa. Walcott would go on to make 397 appearances, scoring 108 goals across all competitions for the Gunners.
He'd win three FA Cups with the north London club as well as two FA Community Shields before departing for Everton in a £20million deal in 2019. He bagged 11 goals in 85 appearances for the Merseyside club before being loaned back to Southampton, and subsequently moving permanently back to his old club on a free transfer in 2021.
Walcott netted twice in 20 Southampton appearances last term in a campaign in which he was frustrated by a calf injury. He was unable to prevent their relegation from the Premier League and left the club at the end of his contract.
He was training with Reading, themselves relegated from the Championship to League One, and could have been reunited with Andy Carroll. It is understood he was offered a deal, but ultimately opted to hang up his boots.
At international level, Walcott received 47 caps for England while scoring eight times for the Three Lions. He debuted in 2006 and became a regular across several managers, including a prominent role in the nation’s Euro 2012 campaign.
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