“My knees are gone”: Champions League winner forced to retire at 31

Former Roma, Inter and Newcastle player Davide Santon said health problems are forcing him to retire from football.

“I have to hang up my boots. It's not because I didn't have offers from other clubs, but because I can't stand it anymore after so many injuries. I didn't want to do it, but I had to.

I have endless tests and consultations, but nothing can be done. I can walk, but that's not enough to be a professional athlete. If I continue to practice, there is a risk that I will need prostheses.

There is simply no left knee. It stops me. As soon as I slightly strain my right knee, which was operated on three times, in which the cartilage, the entire meniscus was removed, it swells, it cannot be bent, ”TMW quotes Santon.

Note that the 31-year-old Italian is a graduate of Inter, for which he played 110 matches and with whom he even won the 2009/10 Champions League.