Unbelievable: the super star footballer from Coventry City has announced his resignation.
Former Wolves striker Leon Clarke has declared he is transitioning into teaching and is ending his sporting career.
The 39-year-old has decided to end his playing career and will now concentrate on coaching. The next few years of his career were spent playing in the non-league with Rushall Olympic, Kettering Town, and finally Mickelover, his final club.
He wrote in a letter to his supporters, “23 clubs, 20 years in the game. It’s officially my retirement, so put the mitts away now. I’m grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way in my profession. I still have a future in sports, but it will be as a coach.
Over the course of his 21-year playing career, Clarke started out with Molineux and was a senior player there for three seasons. He spent three loan stints with QPR, Plymouth Argyle, and Kidderminster Harriers before moving permanently to Sheffield Wednesday in 2006. When Clarke did return, it was in 2014. He had come from Coventry City, and in two stints, he had amassed 114 appearances in the gold and black, scoring 18 goals.
He made 522 appearances in the professional game and scored 153 goals overall while competing in England’s top four levels of professional football. During his time in League One, he scored 78 goals in 170 games, which was more than his total of 60 goals in 285 Championship games.
He spent the most of his playing career with Sheffield United, where he helped the Blades advance from League One to the Premier League, scoring 32 goals. He played with Sheffield Wednesday for three and a half seasons, scoring eighteen goals throughout that time. Bury, Wigan Athletic, Chesterfield, QPR, Southend United, and Scunthorpe United were among the other teams.