By Samuel A. April 25, 2025
Jamie Vardy has announced that he will leave Leicester City at the end of the season after 13 years with the club on Wednesday, also hinting on a move to the MLS. The 38 year old, regarded as the club’s greatest player, was one of the main factors that brought them to winning the Premier League against all odds in 2016, and also the FA Cup in 2021.
Vardy signed a 12 month extension last summer after promotion as champions from the Championship, but this campaign has been a struggle. This week, he apologised to the club’s supporters after relegation was confirmed with five games to play and described his own season as a “total embarrassment”.
Vardy’s story is one of the most famous in the modern footballing era. The player, having joined Leicester from non-league Fleetwood for £1m in 2012, went on to cement himself as an England international and one of the best strikers in the Premier League. He has scored 198 goals in 496 appearances for Leicester.
In 2019-20, aged 33, Vardy became the oldest player to win the Premier League Golden Boot. He scored 18 league goals as the club won promotion last season and has scored seven in this campaign.
He said in a farewell message on social media that Leicester “did the impossible” by winning the league and that he had memories to last a lifetime, picking out alongside the trophies a run to the Champions League quarter-finals and an escape from relegation. “I have been here so long that I truly thought it would never end,” he said. “This has not only been really difficult for me to write but also a really difficult decision to make. Leicester City has been my second home, my extended family, my life for 13 years. The club, the city, the people, means so much to me and my family.”
Vardy said he would not be retiring and is thought to have interest from Major League Soccer in the US. “I want to keep playing and doing what I enjoy doing most, scoring goals. Hopefully there is one or two more for Leicester between now and the end of the season, and many more in the future. I might be 38 but I’ve still got the desire and ambition to achieve so much more.”
Leicester, who visit Wolves on Saturday, are 19th in the Premier League after taking 18 points from 33 matches. They have lost 16 of their past 18 matches under Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is unlikely to lead the club next season, despite their struggles.
Leicester’s chair, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, said: “Jamie is unique. He is a special player and an even more special person. He holds a place in the hearts of everyone connected to Leicester City, and he certainly has my deepest respect and affection. I am endlessly grateful for everything he has given to this football club.”
