Leicester City Football Club has confirmed that its captain and currently longest-serving player, Jamie Vardy, will leave the club after 13 years of an illustrious career with the Foxes.
“We can confirm legendary striker Jamie Vardy will leave Leicester City this summer after 13 seasons that have seen him become our greatest-ever player.”
The 38-year-old, who is described as the greatest player in the club’s history, is closing in on 500 appearances since joining City in 2012 for a fee of around £1M from Fleetwood Town. He has gone on to win the Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield, and the Championship twice during a golden era for the club.
Jamie Vardy, in his 496 appearances with the Foxes, has scored 198 goals and made 69 assists. The club has also revealed that his last game at the King Power Stadium will be on Sunday, 18 May, against Ipswich Town, where he will bid farewell to the supporters with whom he has shared his rise from a non-league hopeful to one of the best goal scorers the Premier League has ever seen.
Vardy asserts that his last game at the King Power Stadium will be the most emotional moment:
“I’ll be devastated on the day when it is the last [game], but good things, they come to an end,” he said. “It’s going to be one of those emotional days. Who knows which way that can go? If you ask anyone, I’m not really an emotional guy—nothing like that ever comes across with me—but when you’ve been somewhere for so long, and it is time to say goodbye, you just never know what your personal reaction is going to be.”
