Anderlecht captain and former Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has confirmed he is retiring from professional football at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Vertonghen, 37, said it was becoming “more difficult” to physically prepare for matches and “show myself as the player I want to be”.
He retired from international football last year, having made a national record 157 senior appearances for Belgium across 17 years.
“In recent weeks it has become clear to me that these will be my last games,” Vertonghen told Anderlecht’s official club website. “This is by no means an easy decision, but it is the right one.
“I have noticed that it is becoming more and more difficult to prepare myself physically for training sessions and matches and to show myself as the player I want to be. That is why I will be stopping after this season.”
Vertonghen made 315 appearances for Spurs between 2012 and 2020, helping the club reach the Champions League final in 2019.
The defender has played for Anderlecht in his native Belgium since leaving Benfica in 2022, but has made just five first-team appearances this campaign due to injury.
“I’m going to give it my all for the last eleven games and hopefully experience a few more great moments with the fans and my team mates,” he continued.
“I am very proud of what I have been able to experience and of what I have achieved. I would also like to thank everyone who has supported me all these years from the bottom of my heart.”
Vertonghen won the Eredivisie and Dutch Cup twice with Ajax before joining Spurs, and after leaving the north London club — where he was twice named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year — the centre-back won the Portuguese league title with Benfica.
Anderlecht are fourth in the Belgian top division and eight points behind league leaders Genk.
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