Ciro Immobile leaves Paris and bids farewell to soccer: “The time has come”

Ciro Immobile is retiring. The striker, born in 1990, has decided to terminate his contract with Paris FC, the Ligue 1 club where he played last season, and to hang up his cleats at the age of 36. The official announcement was made by the French club itself and his wife, Jessica Melena, whom he has been married to since 2014.

“Ciro Immobile is a legend. After 650 games, more than 320 goals, and numerous titles to his credit, Ciro Immobile has decided to bring his immense career to a close. An exceptional player who will leave his mark on multiple generations,” reads the statement from the Parisian club.

Having come up through the Juventus youth system, where he made his first-team debut, Immobile—after loan stints at Siena, Grosseto, and Pescara (where he formed an unforgettable trio with Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne), played for a year at Genoa and truly broke out during the 2013–2014 season, winning the Serie A scoring title and leading Torino to European competition. After stints abroad with Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla, and a brief return to Turin, he was signed by Lazio, where he remained for eight seasons, scoring over 200 goals in the blue-and-white jersey and winning the top scorer title on three more occasions. Toward the end of his career, he played for Beşiktaş, Bologna, and finally Paris FC.

For the Italian national team, he scored 17 goals in 57 matches, winning the 2020 European Championship. Immobile has entered the top ten all-time Serie A scorers with 201 goals, and in the 2019–20 season, he tied Higuain’s record of 36 goals in a single season in Italy’s top flight (while winning the Golden Boot). At the club level, he has won one Coppa Italia, two Italian Super Cups with Lazio, one Turkish Super Cup with Beşiktaş, and one German Super Cup with Borussia Dortmund, as well as the Serie B title with Pescara.

Here is what he said on social media after his retirement: “It’s a difficult moment, but I’ve loved soccer. It wasn’t an easy decision, but the time has come to spend more time with my family, who have always followed me everywhere—I owe it to them to give back what they’ve given me. Don’t be sad for me; I have many plans for the future.”