Between 2011 and 2013, Teemu Pukki played for FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. Now, the 36-year-old Finn is set to retire at the end of the year. Before that, the striker hopes to celebrate the league title with HJK Helsinki.
There are just four matches left in a career spanning over 20 years. Teemu Pukki, who once played for FC Schalke 04 for two years, is hanging up his boots at the end of the year. The 36-year-old HJK Helsinki striker announced this on his Instagram account on Tuesday. “After this season, it’s time to say goodbye to professional football. There are still four matches left in my career, and I want to win them all,” wrote Pukki.
If he keeps his promise, Pukki would retire as Finnish champion. In the current Veikkausliiga title race, Helsinki are one point behind Inter Turku; the head-to-head clash is scheduled for 29 October (5.00 pm). The final matchday of the Finnish league season is on 8 November.
Self-promotion against S04 leads to a move
Pukki made his debut in April 2006 as a 16-year-old for his youth club Kotkan TP, against none other than his current club, HJK. Via Sevilla FC, for whom the striker played just one match, Pukki moved to Helsinki for the first time in 2010. There, he impressed in the Europa League qualifiers by scoring three goals against FC Schalke 04. The Schalke management, led by Horst Heldt, therefore brought the Finn to Gelsenkirchen in the summer of 2011, where Pukki made 47 appearances in the royal blue shirt over two years (scoring eight goals).
Later in his career, Pukki won the Scottish Premiership with Celtic in 2014, the Danish Cup with Brøndby IF in 2018, and was promoted to and relegated from the Premier League twice with Norwich City. It was for the Canaries that the striker made the most appearances of his career (210). After a year and a half with Minnesota United, the 133-time Finland international finally returned to Helsinki in January 2025 and brought his career to a close in his home country.
“A huge thank you to the wonderful clubs”
“Football has given me far more than I could ever have dreamed of as a little boy. Thanks to football, I’ve seen the world and gained experiences that I doubt I could have had anywhere else,” Pukki said in his farewell message on Instagram. “It wasn’t always plain sailing, but my love for the game has always remained.
A huge thank you to the wonderful clubs and their fans. My sincere thanks also go to the teams I’ve played for – the managers, the coaching staff and the fantastic team-mates with whom I’ve shared the dressing room.”