OVIEDO: Former Arse­nal and Spain playmaker Santi Cazorla retired from football at the age of 41 on Thursday after more than two decades in the game.

The diminutive Astur­ian helped his local team Oviedo reach La Liga in 2025 and played his final season with them in the Spanish top flight.

“Now that everything is ending, when the boots are being hung up, and the noise is turning into sile­nce, everything fits toget­her, because the ending wasn’t just anywhere — I was at home,” said Cazorla in a video on X.

After developing in Oviedo’s youth ranks, Caz­o­rla headed to Villarreal, later joining Arsenal in 2012 after spells at Recr­eativo and Malaga.

Cazorla won two FA Cups with Arsenal in 2014 and 2015, during a six-year spell in London.

The creative midfielder lifted the European Cha­mp­ionship with Spain in 2008 and 2012, but missed their 2010 World Cup triumph through injury, a constant problem for him during his career.

Cazorla returned to Villarreal and then signed for Qatari side Al Sadd, before returning to Oviedo in 2023.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026