Jamie Vardy to leave Leicester City after incredible 13-year career

Jamie Vardy spearheaded the Leicester City side that won the Premier League title in 2016 (Picture: Getty)

Premier League winner Jamie Vardy will leave Leicester after 13 seasons at the end of the current campaign, the Foxes have announced.

The 38-year-old England striker, a key member of the team which lifted the title against the odds in 2016, will depart with almost 500 appearances for the club to his name in the wake of a relegation he has described as ‘such a s*** show’.

A statement on City’s official website said: ‘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.’

Explaining his decision to call time on a record breaking career with the Foxes, Vardy said: ‘I have been here so long that I truly thought it would never end.

‘This has not only been really difficult for me to write but also a really difficult decision to make. Leicester City has been my second home, my extended family, my life for 13 years.

‘The club, the city, the people, means so much to me and my family.’

Despite his own personal struggles with form and fitness, Vardy insists he is not yet ready to hang up his boots and will seek a new club this summer when he will become a free agent.

Jamie Vardy led Leicester City back to the Premier League last season in their promotion-winning campaign (Picture: Getty) Jamie Vardy was part of the Leicester City side that won the FA Cup for the first time in their history back in 2021 (Picture: Getty)

‘I want to keep playing and doing what I enjoy doing most, scoring goals,’ he confirmed. ‘Hopefully there is one or two more for Leicester between now and the end of the season, and many more in the future.

‘I might be 38 but I’ve still got the desire and ambition to achieve so much more.’

Vardy will go down as a Premier League great, having scored 143 goals — placing him No.15 on the competition’s all-time list — and once netted in a record 11 straight games in Leicester’s improbable title-winning campaign. The team won the league at preseason odds of 5,000-1.

Leicester City signed Jamie Vardy from Fleetwood for just £1million back in 2012 (Picture: Getty) Jamie Vardy’s goalscoring heroics with Leicester City earned him 26 England caps (Picture: Getty)

Leicester’s chair, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, said: ‘Jamie is unique. He is a special player and an even more special person.

‘He holds a place in the hearts of everyone connected to Leicester City, and he certainly has my deepest respect and affection.

‘I am endlessly grateful for everything he has given to this football club.’

More to follow…