Danny Drinkwater, Chelsea Flop, Retires from Football at 33

During the 2015–2016 Leicester City season, Danny Drinkwater played in 35 of the 38 league games, making a key contribution to the team’s amazing Premier League title success under head coach Claudio Ranieri.

On August 31, 2017, the former England international signed a contract with Chelsea for a transfer fee of €37.90 million, with the goal of becoming a well-known player in Europe after leading Leicester City to the Premier League title.

Unfortunately, injuries kept him from playing much at Stamford Bridge; before coming on loan to Aston Villa, he only made 22 appearances and scored one goal.

After a confrontation with teammate Jota on the training field, he fled Villa Park. Later, he played on loan for Burnley, Reading, and Kasimpasa in Turkey.

Before failing to agree to a long-term contract with Reading, Danny Drinkwater was a reliable player for the Royals, making 34 appearances.

Drinkwater chose to retire from the game after feeling that he had been “in limbo too long” following his release by Chelsea in July 2022.

On Monday, October 30, he made the announcement that he was retiring from football during an interview with the High-Performance podcast.

“I’d just like to announce my retirement from professional football,” stated Danny Drinkwater. Though it’s undoubtedly been a while coming—especially in light of the past year—I believe the time has come to make the official announcement. Although I didn’t imagine it would annoy me, speaking it now feels a little like picking at flesh. I believe I was prepared for it because I didn’t stop at my peak and because it has somewhat subsided, which has made the adjustment easier.

“I feel like I’ve been in limbo for far too long; I’ve either wanted to play but haven’t had the chance to do so at a level that makes me feel important.” I just thought, Should I just shake hands with the sport since I’m happy not playing football yet I’m happy playing football and I’m restless here for no apparent reason? Since I was six or seven years old, this has been my entire existence, and it has never been simple. The way it has subsided, in my opinion, has been quite beneficial.

It would probably be more difficult if I had to stop playing because of an injury or aging while I was playing every week. I’ve received a number of offers from Championship teams, but none of them have made an impression on me.