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Denmark's former national team captain and defender Simon Kjaer has announced his decision to hang up his boots. Kjaer captained Denmark to the semi-finals of the EURO 2020 and also won the Scudetto with AC Milan in the 2021-22 season.
After a commendable career spent playing for clubs across Germany, Italy, Spain, and beyond; Kjaer announced his retirement on Monday, January 13th, 2025.
🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Simon Kjær has announced his retirement from professional football. ❌🇩🇰
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) January 13, 2025
A great defender, a proper bloke and a truly inspirational leader when tragedy struck at EURO 2020 with his Danish teammate Christian Eriksen.
We wish him the best for the future. 💫 pic.twitter.com/n7xrxxwOfV
In his club career, Simon Kjaer played for Midtjylland, Palermo, Wolfsburg, Roma, Lille, Fenerbahce, Sevilla, Atalanta, and AC Milan. Last summer, the defender parted ways with the Rossoneri and has been without a club since then.
Simon Kjaer: the hero of Denmark in an unnerving EURO 2020 incident
In June 2021, during the face-off between Denmark and Finland in a crucial group game in the EURO 2020, Denmark's star midfielder Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed on the field due to a cardiac arrest.
Kjaer also led his teammates to escort Eriksen off the ground along with the Danish medical personnel. He also offered his consolation to Eriksen's partner, earning appreciation from football fans all over the globe.
Eriksen was stabilized, and later out of danger. Even after this worrying incident, Kjaer led the Denmark team in an iconic journey to the EURO 2020 semi-finals.
The former Denmark captain and the Danish Medical staff in the EURO 2020 later received the UEFA President’s Award for his “exceptional leadership qualities” following the incident. He said:
I try to lead the team on and off the pitch, in every aspect of life, as footballers, when we’re together. I think it’s one of the biggest privileges I have in my career.
FIFA also awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award to Kjaer along with the medical team.
"Now is truly the right moment to close this chapter": Kjaer
Speaking to TV2 Sport in an interview, Simon Kjaer expressed his thoughts on his decision to retire at the age of 35.
Now is truly the right moment to close this chapter. This isn’t a decision I made overnight after the summer; I had been contemplating it even before the Euro. Last autumn, I realized that my time at AC Milan was perhaps coming to an end. What would happen next? I didn’t need to announce anything to anyone, other than to myself.
A lot of factors have influenced my future since then. My children, family, the national team, and AC Milan – my dream club. Many things led to this conclusion after the Euro: I had expected something to arise, but first and foremost, I had to make a decision for my family before considering the sporting aspect. I have no regrets. I lack nothing in this regard.
I experienced the final at San Siro, and that experience... I knew perfectly well that this was the end. I didn’t need to inform anyone about it, apart from myself. Looking back, I could have easily made the retirement even more spectacular and taken another, bigger step after Milan. But I didn’t require that. For me, having such a grand farewell wasn’t essential,