Burnley loanee have announced his retirement from football at…

The former Burnley, Leicester City and Chelsea midfielder announced his early retirement at the age of 33–44

Former Burnley loan player Danny Drinkwater has announced his retirement from football at the age of 33.

The midfielder has not featured since leaving Reading in the summer of 2022.
In an interview with the High Performance podcast, Drinkwater revealed that now is the right time to hang up his boots to put an end to the Badger”.

“It probably took a while, especially last year, but I think it’s time to make it official now,” he said.

“I don’t think it would bother me, but saying it would almost stress me out a little bit.
“I think I was ready for it, I didn’t stop at my peak and it did come down a bit, it helped the transition.
” “I think I’ve been in limbo for too long.
Or I want to play but I don’t have the opportunity to play at a level where I feel valued.

“I just think I’m being agitated here for no reason, I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I shake sports hands?
“It’s all I’ve ever known, it’s been my life since I was six or seven years old, it’s never been easy.
“I think the way it calmed down definitely helped.
” If I played week in and week out and had to stop because of injury or age, I think it would be more difficult.
“I had quite a few offers from Championship clubs, but I never felt uncomfortable, it didn’t help me at all.

Drinkwater comes from Manchester United’s academy but has never played for the Red Devils.
However, he spent time on loan at Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, Watford and Barnsley.
He made his name at Leicester City, helping them win promotion to the Premier League in 2014 before playing a key role in their miraculous title triumph two years later.
This gave Drinkwater the chance to move to Chelsea for a big sum, but it didn’t work out and he was eventually loaned to Burnley for the 2019/20 season.

It proved to be a regrettable loan, with Drinkwater making just two appearances for the Clarets before his contract was cut short in January.
He was sidelined for three months to recover from injuries sustained in an incident outside a Manchester nightclub.