Former Arsenal, Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla is retiring

Former Arsenal and Spain playmaker Santi Cazorla retired from football on Thursday at the age of 41, after more than two decades in the game.

The diminutive Asturian helped his local team Oviedo to La Liga in 2025 and played his final season with them in the Spanish top flight.

“Now that everything ends, when the boots are hung up and the noise turns into silence, everything fits together, because the ending wasn’t just somewhere – I was home,” Cazorla said in a video on X.

After developing through Oviedo’s youth academy, Cazorla moved to Villarreal, joining Arsenal in 2012 after spells at Recreativo and Malaga.

Cazorla won two FA Cups with Arsenal in 2014 and 2015, during a six-year spell in London.

The creative midfielder won the European Championship with Spain in 2008 and 2012, but missed the 2010 World Cup triumph through injury, an ongoing problem for him throughout his career.

Cazorla returned to Villarreal and then signed for Qatari side Al Sadd, before returning to Oviedo in the second division in 2023.

“Cazorla decided to come back and earn the minimum salary allowed by the league and donated all his image rights to the club,” Oviedo said in a statement on Thursday.

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“In return, he only asked that 10 percent of the sales of his jersey be entirely dedicated to Real Oviedo’s youth academy, to contribute to the growth of future generations.”

Oviedo said they would like him to continue in whatever role or capacity he chooses and “that makes him happy.”

Published on July 2, 2026