Former Spain and Arsenal playmaker Santi Cazorla retires at 41, ending career where it began at Real Oviedo
The two-time European champion with Spain and former Arsenal midfielder hangs up his boots after a career spanning over two decades, ending exactly where it started at boyhood club Real Oviedo.
The announcement
On 2 July 2026, the 41-year-old midfielder shared a farewell video on social media, drawing a close to a professional journey that stretched more than two decades.
Now, when everything is ending, everything fits together. I ended my career at home. In the same place where the magic began.
He had been considering his future after Oviedo's relegation from La Liga, and the decision came nearly six weeks after the season finished.
A career across Europe
Cazorla's path took him from the Oviedo academy to Villarreal in 2003, where he won the 2004 Intertoto Cup. After a loan at Recreativo Huelva, a standout spell at Málaga earned him a move to Arsenal in 2012. At the north London club he made 180 appearances, claiming two FA Cups and two Community Shields, and became a favourite under Arsène Wenger. He later added six domestic trophies with Al-Sadd in Qatar.
- Begins career at boyhood club Real Oviedo
- Transfers to Villarreal
- Wins first European Championship with Spain
- Joins Arsenal from Málaga
- Last Arsenal appearance due to severe ankle injury
- Returns to Villarreal after injury recovery
- Joins Al-Sadd in Qatar
- Returns to Real Oviedo on minimum salary
- Helps Oviedo secure promotion to La Liga
- Announces retirement at age 41
International glory
With Spain, Cazorla was part of the generation that won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships. He earned 81 caps and scored 15 goals. A persistent ankle injury kept him out of the 2010 World Cup-winning squad, but his international contributions were already cemented.
The injury ordeal
A severe ankle infection sustained during his Arsenal years kept him out of first-team football for nearly two years, with his last Arsenal appearance coming in October 2016. Doctors told him he might never walk normally again, but he fought back through multiple surgeries and rehabilitation to return to La Liga with Villarreal in 2018.
I never stopped trying.
Return to where it began
In 2023, Cazorla rejoined boyhood club Real Oviedo, accepting the league's minimum salary and asking that 10% of shirt sales go to the youth academy. He helped the club win promotion to La Liga in 2025 for the first time in 24 years. Oviedo were relegated the following season, but his symbolic homecoming was complete.
Your magic does not leave, it only transforms.
The club said its doors would always be open for him, whatever role he chooses next, with the former Arsenal midfielder having previously discussed a potential coaching return with Mikel Arteta.
