Former Italy international, Ciro Immobile has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 36, bringing the curtain down on a two-decade career that yielded 656 appearances and roughly 350 goals across five countries.

The striker broke the news to his Paris FC teammates on Friday, struggling to hold back tears as he addressed the squad he had only joined in January.

Immobile admitted the decision was not easy, explaining that persistent injury problems had left him unable to give his best on the pitch. He stressed that his choice was driven largely by a desire to prioritise his family after nearly two decades on the road, noting that they had followed him everywhere and now needed him in return.

Notably, he walked away despite a Paris FC contract that was set to run until June 2027, having managed two goals and two assists in 12 appearances for the Ligue 1 side.

Immobile’s career took him through Salernitana’s youth ranks before a breakthrough at Juventus, followed by loan spells at Siena, Grosseto and Pescara. He went on to represent Genoa, Torino, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla, Beşiktaş and Bologna, but it was his eight-year stint at Lazio, from 2016 to 2024, that defined his legacy. There, he scored 207 goals in 340 matches to become the Roman club’s all-time leading scorer, while claiming the European Golden Shoe in the 2019-20 season after a 36-goal haul and winning the Serie A top-scorer award four times in total.

On the international stage, Immobile earned 57 caps for Italy, scoring 17 goals, and was a key member of Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri squad that lifted the European Championship title in 2021. He stepped away from the national team following Italy’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

Tributes have poured in from across the football world since the announcement, with many hailing him as one of Serie A’s most prolific forwards of his generation. Immobile has indicated that although the game will be hard to forget, he already has plans for life after football, closing out a career that spanned Italy, Germany, Spain, Turkey and France.

Photo Credit: Getty Images