Nicklas Bendtner has announced his decision to retire from professional football at the age of 33.
The former Danish international striker last played for the Tårnby FF’s M+32 team who compete in the fourth tier of the Danish football league system called the Denmark Series.
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) June 3, 2021
Bendtner joined Arsenal in 2004 and was loaned out several times during his Arsenal career. One of these leans included Italian giants Juventus. Arsenal chose not to renew his contract and Bendtner joined Vfl Wolfsburg of the Bundesliga on a free transfer. He returned back to England for a short stint at Nottingham Forest. On his debut match for Forest, he faced his former club Arsenal in a 2016–17 EFL Cup match. After the match, Arsène Wenger asserted that “If he keeps fit he still has a chance to come back to the top level. I think a hungry Nicklas Bendtner can score goals against anybody, and that’s what you want from him.” On 11 December 2016, Bendtner scored an own goal against Forest’s rivals Derby County in an eventual 3–0 defeat.
This was followed by a few short-term deals with Rosenberg and Copenhagen FC and eventually signed with Tårnby FF’s M+32 in the Denmark Series league.
Despite his talent and confidence in his abilities, Bendtner has often struggled with injuries, which have limited his fitness; he has also been criticized in the media for his perceived arrogance, mentality, and inconsistency, as well as his off-field antics, and as a result, he has been accused of failing to live up to his potential.
The former striker scored 113 goals in a 15-year playing career. In a 12-year international career, Bendtner made 81 appearances for Denmark and scored 30 goals.
“I miss it every day, but I am also aware that there is an end date in this job. I think I’ll spend a lot of time understanding that it’s really over now,” Bendtner told Bendtner & Philine on Discovery +. “Now I will find something else that gives me what football has given me in all the years.”
He is referred to by fans as “Lord Bendtner”.