Former England and Tottenham star Aaron Lennon announces his retirement from professional football

Aaron Lennon has announced his retirement from football at the age of 35. 

Having failed to attract a contract since the end of his deal at Burnley last summer, the former England international has made the decision to bring the curtain down on his professional career. 

Making his professional debut in 2003, Lennon spent 19 years as a professional and appeared 21 times for England between 2006 and 2013.  

Aaron Lennon has called an end on a 19-year professional career after leaving Burnley

Lennon took to Twitter to share his statement, saying: ‘I have finally decided that time is right to hang my boots up.

‘Having weighed up my options, I didn’t feel any were right for me and my young family.

‘It has been a very tough decision as football has been my life since probably the age of three and the last 20 years playing professionally at the very top has been amazing.

Lennon made his debut for Leeds in 2003

‘I loved every minute of it! Football means so much to me and always will do.

‘I don’t think I even realised how much until I started considering this retirement, it has been everything and more.’  

Lennon made his debut for Leeds in the 2003-04 season and was one of the youngest ever Premier League players when he made his debut at 16 and 129 days – a record at the time.  

He then went on to play 364 games for Tottenham – where he spent a decade after arriving in 2005 – Lennon was part of the side that won Spurs’ last major honour, lifting the 2008 League Cup trophy. 

At 18 he earned his first England call-up under Sven-Goran Eriksson and made his debut from the bench against Jamaica in a 6-0 victory, before representing the Three Lions at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

The now 35-year-old made his name in north London as an agile, pacey forward, who managed 30 goals and 79 assists at White Hart Lane before moving to Everton in 2015.  

He was part of the England World Cup squad in 2006 that lost to Portugal on penalties in the quarterfinals

The 35-year-old spent the majority of his career with Tottenham where he played 364 times

After an initial loan to Goodison Park in 2015, Lennon’s move was made permanent the same year, and after nine goals and six assists in 77 games on Merseyside he was moved on to Sean Dyche’s Burnley for the first of two spells. 

Having lost much of the speed and agility that had been the linchpin of his career for so long, Lennon struggled to replicate his best form and after only 18 months at Turf Moor he joined Kayserispor in Turkey until 2021, before returning to Burnley. 

In total, Lennon made 607 club appearances, scoring 43 goals and providing 98 assists in a career that spanned almost two decades, the vast majority of which was spent in the Premier League. 

He joined Everton initially on loan in 2015 before joining Burnley three years later in 2018

He ended his Twitter message with an emotional send-off, adding: ‘Now I’m very excited for this next chapter in my life and spending a lot more time with my loved ones.

‘There is so much I want to do and give back with all my experience and experiences on and off the pitch and will be doing so in the near future.

‘Football world thank you from the bottom of my heart.’ 

The English forward scored just twice in 28 games after making his return to Burnley 2021