BREAKING: The Premier League champion of Leicester City has announced his retirement intention.

The striker, whose current campaign in Belgium has been limited by ailments, will hang up his boots at the conclusion of the season after listening to his body. He turns 38 in April.

Football player Shinji Okazaki, a title-winning hero, has declared his retirement. The 38-year-old Japanese striker, who was crucial to Leicester City’s 2016 championship, will put up his boots at the end of the current campaign.

Okazaki, who is currently a player for Sint-Truiden in Belgium, has stated that he is “listening to his body” and that he is “reaching his physical limits.” Because of injuries, he has missed the most of the current season due to absences, and he is ending his career. For the striker, it will be the end of 19 years in the game.

Okazaki’s movement and work ethic were essential to City’s Premier League victory. The Japanese international was a fantastic counterbalance to Jamie Vardy up top and a wonderful winger for Marc Albrighton and Riyad Mahrez. He also contributed some amazing goals, most notably an overhead kick that helped them defeat Newcastle.
After 137 games and 19 goals in four seasons with City, Okazaki left the team in 2019 and transferred to Malaga, but his contract was canceled before he had even played a game due to financial difficulties. After that, he joined Huesca and assisted in their promotion to La Liga.

He spent two seasons with Huesca before spending a season at Cartagena and then relocating to Belgium. Despite playing 32 games in his debut season, injuries have limited him to just seven substitute appearances in his second season with Sint-Truiden.

“At the end of this season, I have decided to end my career,” Okazaki declared. “As a football player, I gave it my all, but you have to pay attention to your body too. I’m at my physical limit right now. I’ll put in every effort to stay in shape over the next several weeks so I can support the squad and bid adieu to the field.

“I want to be honest with everyone who has always helped me regarding this decision. That’s the reason I’m making the announcement right now. Of course, after the end of the season, I would be pleased to offer more details. I’ll devote all of my attention to football till then.

Okazaki started his career in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse before relocating to Stuttgart, Germany. After that, he moved to Mainz, where he attracted the interest of City. In just two seasons, he scored 29 goals in 70 games, which earned him a £7.5 million move to the King Power Stadium.

With 119 appearances abroad, Okazaki is fifth on Japan’s all-time appearance list. In addition, he scored 50 goals, ranking third in his nation’s scoring standings. In addition to representing his nation at three World Cups—2010, 2014, and 2018—and scoring in the first two, he won the 2011 Asian Cup with Japan.