Arjen Robben has announced his retirement from football after having an outstanding and very rewarding career. He played most of his football at some of the best teams in Europe, he came onto the scene as a young winger with an excellent left foot.
His career started at FC Groningen, he made his debut whilst at school but this was something that came as a shock to Robben as he had never even trained with the first-team squad.
First big move.
His career took a huge leap forward when he moved from PSV Eindhoven to Chelsea FC, They had just been taken over by Roman Abramovich and this was a huge move forward for Robben's career.
Robben, unfortunately, failed to reach the heights that he wanted to reach after breaking his foot in a pre-season match. He only managed 19 goals over the 3 seasons at Chelsea but these figures were hugely affected by his injuries.
Robben told FourFourTwo: "My injuries started at Chelsea when I broke my foot during a pre-season game. That was just pure bad luck, but after that, I had some muscular injuries too, so I had to get to know my body better. I tried to find out how to take care of it, to avoid breaking down all the time. Some players never have any injuries and others, like me, have to do more specific things to ensure they stay fit."
European Champions
The flying Dutchman then made a move to the Galacticos for a fee of €38 million, He spent two seasons at the Spanish side winning the title and the Spanish cup over his period of time in the capital.
After being forced to move on Robben admitted to FourFourTwo: "it was a strange time and I had played the best pre-season of my career, but they spent a lot of money signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and Kaka."
The best decision he ever made
This possibly could be one of the best decisions a player has ever made, Robben left in 2009 to join German champions Bayern Munich. Robben won endless amounts of league titles at Munich but the biggest trophy of all was his Champions League final win against Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
After missing the decisive penalty against Chelsea the year before, he sure enough made up for it with his late winner the year after.
Daylight robbery
When most people talk of Robben and his success at Bayern, they soon follow it up with how pleasing it was to watch him and Ribery play on the wings. They had this bond on the park that you mostly won't see ever again. They knew where each other were on the park at all times and worked together like ketchup and mustard.
Bundesliga football will just not be the same without Robben doing his signature cut in and strike with his wand of a left foot that created so many magical moments for Bayern fans.
International heartbreak.
His international career never really gave him the rewards that he desired, a magnificent Spain side stopped him from winning the 2010 World Cup and somewhat after that it just went downhill with them failing to qualify for 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup.
Robben blamed this on the Netherlands having a unique style of play and not adapting to how football was changing.
Goodbye, Robben.
No one can argue that Robben isn't a legend and many defenders will now be happy to not have to face him ever again, but he will be missed and one day may even see him as a manager or coach.