Jose Enrique retires, aged 31

Former Newcastle United and Liverpool full-back Jose Enrique has retired from football at the age of 31 due to a recurring knee injury.

The left-back was playing for La Liga 123 side Real Zaragoza last season, making 24 outings, but despite surgery he has decided to call time upon his playing career.

Enrique made 228 appearances across nine seasons in England after previous stints at Valencia, Celta Vigo and Villarreal.

“I could not play without medication, I did not even train…it was really hard, too hard,” Enrique told Marca.

“Often I got dizzy in training on so much medication and after every game my knee swelled like a ball and I could barely manage to walk for three days.

“Something that was supposed to be for three months ended up turning into two years and despite seeing five doctors in England, the problem was not fixed.

 “It hurts me, but so many times they told me that it was a psychological problem that I came to believe it…after surgery, I was never the same, it was frustrating.

“I had been playing for three months with a broken meniscus, I had to escape to Spain because I could not even walk. I could not compete and had a terrible time.

“I had an anxiety attack and thought, 'what the hell is wrong with me?' I did not understand it.”

Image via @RealZaragoza

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