At the age of 37, Adam Lallana has announced the end of his playing career. The midfielder played 305 Premier League games and won the Champions League with Liverpool FC.
Adam Lallana was unable to prevent his Saints from being relegated last season. Southampton FC became the earliest team ever to be relegated to the second division. It was a bitter moment for the veteran player, who started his career in the youth academy of a club renowned for its excellent youth development program.
“It’s crazy to think that it all started in the last millennium when I signed for the academy in 1999,” Lallana reflected in his farewell post on Instagram. Southampton is “the place where it all began and, fittingly, where it all ends. It’s the club I ultimately owe everything to.”
Championship and Champions League titles with Liverpool
However, Lallana celebrated his greatest successes after moving to Liverpool FC. He was part of Jürgen Klopp’s squad between 2014 and 2020 and won the Champions League title in 2019, the UEFA Super Cup the following year, the Club World Cup in 2020 and the English championship in 2019/20 with LFC. Some of the “biggest titles in the game,” as the 34-time international notes. That is one of the reasons why he is ending his playing career “with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and pride.”
“The greatest honor” despite disappointments
Things did not go so well with the Three Lions, however. Although it was “the greatest honor” to “represent my country,” the veteran was no longer part of the squad during the British team’s recent strong years. The three World Cup and three European Championship appearances on his resume came from the disappointing finals in 2014 and 2016. In Brazil, England were knocked out after the group stage without a win, and two years later they suffered a sensational defeat to Iceland in the round of 16. Nevertheless, every international match meant “the world” to Lallana.
It is not yet clear what the future holds for the skilled technician, who played for Brighton & Hove Albion for four years after leaving Liverpool and ended his career last season at his youth club Southampton. “I’m excited to see what the future holds,” said Lallana, who is open to all possibilities.