We take a look at Puyol, Owen, and other famous players with the talent or zeal to play on but saw their careers ended by injuries
Some footballers walk away on their own terms, having played the game they love to their satisfaction. For others, their bodies betray them even as their hearts continue to yearn for the pitch. Some have great promise and potential, but niggling problems mean they never achieve it.
Here are five famous footballers whose careers were interrupted or ended by injury.
Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
Carles Puyol flourished at the heart of one of the greatest squads in history, Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona side. His defending was imperious, his tackles were often last-ditch, and his loyalty to the Blaugrana shirt was absolute.
Puyol won six La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies, and the World Cup and Euros with Spain. But that physical bravery came at a price. Years of pushing and prodding finally caught up with him through knee and cartilage issues. In March 2014, after another knee surgery and realising his body was no longer willing, Puyol announced he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season. He didn’t play another competitive match at the Camp Nou.
Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Manchester City)
A Champions League winner with Bayern and United, Hargreaves was a unique presence in English football, one of the first to feature for the England team without having lived or played in Britain.
He was solid and intelligent in defensive midfield, but his knees began to fail him during his peak at United. Hargreaves played the full 120 minutes in United’s historic win over Chelsea in Moscow in 2008. After the season ended he underwent controversial knee surgeries in Colorado, United States but never fully recovered.
There were a few sporadic appearances over the next two years. Hargreaves eventually left United in 2011 for Manchester City where he only played four games all season, failing even to qualify for City’s title-winning medal having played only one Premier League game. He eventually announced his retirement in 2012 at 31.
Abou Diaby (Arsenal)
If you watched Diaby glide past midfielders on his day, you’d agree he was made for the Premier League. He was often compared to Patrick Vieira, but he was his own kind of player – tall, strong and explosive. That promise was shattered in May 2006 during a match at Sunderland when a horror tackle fractured and dislocated his ankle. Diaby returned, but the injury lingered like a shadow.
There were muscle tears, hamstring problems, one thing after another. He managed to string together a few memorable performances, notably dominating Liverpool in 2012, but his body kept breaking down. After a brief stint at Marseille where he barely played, Diaby announced his retirement in 2019 at 32.
Michael Owen (Liverpool / Real Madrid / Manchester United)
A prodigy, Michael Owen was for a period the best player in the world, having won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 at only the age of 22 after firing Liverpool to a cup treble.
Real Madrid fought for his signature for years, before finally signing him in 2004 as one of their galacticos. But Owen’s body couldn’t keep pace with his speed and acceleration, which were what made him one of the most prolific goalscorers of the early 21st century.
He suffered countless muscular issues that chipped away at his pace. After some time at Real Madrid and then Newcastle, he signed for Manchester United in 2009, with the Red Devils offering him a pay-as-you-play contract. Eventually he left United and played a final season at Stoke in 2012-13, which saw just eight appearances. Still injured, he announced his retirement that March at 33.
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
There’s something particularly cruel about seeing the promise of a prodigy continue to diminish through no one’s fault. Teenage Jack Wilshere was one of the most talented young English players, with England manager Fabio Capello calling him “the future” of England. That 2011 Champions League performance against Barcelona remains one of the finest midfield showings by an English teenager at the elite stage.
Arsenal also believed he was their future, but Wilshere’s ankles told a different story. A stress fracture sidelined him for the entire 2011-12 season. After that, it was a patchwork career: a great stretch here, another surgery there. Arsenal let him go in 2018. West Ham took a chance; Bournemouth gave him a lifeline. Nothing stuck.
In July 2022, at 30 years old and having never really achieved anything in the game, Wilshere retired and went into coaching. Everyone who watched him as a teenager would no doubt be left wondering how far he could have gone if only his body had held up.
