Andres Iniesta and Toni Kroos are among the football legends to retire in 2024.
The official website of FIFA has published on Wednesday a list of footballers who have won the World Championship and who have ended their careers this year. Shkodran Mustafi is also on the list.
Andres Iniesta is considered one of the best Spanish footballers in history. He led Spain to the world title in 2010. He has played 14 games in four world championships.
"A star of galactic proportions, Iniesta ended his career in October, after more than 900 matches with clubs and the Spanish national team. The midfield wizard will always be remembered for his time at Barcelona. But his most famous moment came with the Spain shirt," wrote FIFA.
On July 11, 2010, at "Soccer City" in Johannesburg, South Africa, Iniesta scored the goal of Spain's 1:0 victory over the Netherlands in the final. He even set the challenge in the 116th minute.
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Jesus Navas is another player of that Spain team from "South Africa 2010" who ended his career this year. Navas also appeared in the final, replacing Pedro after an hour of play. He also appeared in "Euro 2024", where Spain triumphed.
Erik Durm did not play a match for Germany in the "Brazil 2014" World Cup. But he was in the team and is considered the world champion, according to FIFA. He retired in January of this year, after numerous problems with injuries. Durm retired at the age of 31.
"Durm, the 22-year-old, had joined the list of players like Franco Baresi and Ronaldo by winning the biggest prize in football without playing a single minute. He was an unused substitute in all seven matches of Germany at the 2014 World Cup," writes FIFA.
In July he returned to amateur football, signing with German sixth division team Rieschweiler.
The Albanian defender, Shkodran Mustafi, was also part of Germany in the 2014 World Cup. He played in three matches. He decided in June to end his career as a player.
"Like Durm, Mustafi made his way to Germany just before the 2014 World Cup. He made his debut in the friendly against Poland a month before the global event. He played in the first two matches in the World Cup and started in the round of 17 against Algeria. But he was replaced after an injury and did not play again in the World Cup. "Since June, he has been an assistant coach for Germany UXNUMX," writes FIFA.
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Obviously more important for Germany was Toni Kroos.
He won the World Cup in 2014, while for Germany he played in three global events and played 14 matches.
The iconic midfielder ended his career with Germany's last match in "Euro 2024". He left when he was at his peak, as the leader of the Real Madrid midfield, which won the Champions League and La Liga last season.
In the 2014 World Cup, Kroos started in all of Germany's matches. He had two goals and three assists.
The well-known French defender, Raphael Varane, also ended his career this year. He won the World Cup with France in 2018. He played in three World Cups, a total of 18 matches.
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Of the soccer players who have won the World Championship, Sam Mewis, Kelley O'Hara, Alex Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn ended their careers this year. All were part of the USA.
Mewis won the 2019 World Cup, while O'Hara, Morgan and Sauerbrunn won the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
