Fans have been left stunned and wondering if they’ve been the victims of a practical joke as a post appeared last night on Riyad Mahrez’s Facebook page suggesting he was set to retire from football.
The Algeria international has been one of the best attackers in the Premier League in recent seasons and this post has come completely out of the blue.
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While there is no official confirmation from Leicester themselves, the post on Mahrez’s official Facebook page has remained up for around seven hours at the time of writing.
One would imagine something as major as this would have been deleted immediately were it a prank, though of course it could also easily have been missed in the middle of the night.
The post reads: ‘After the last consultation with many doctors, I’ve decided to stay away from football. As my time as a footballer comes to an end, I would like to say a few words.
‘I want to thank everybody for the kindness and support they have shown me in this incredible city, you will always be in my heart.’
Many fans are shocked and some seem convinced it is a prank, but the message from Mahrez for the moment is that he’s decided to bid farewell to football after medical consultation.
Fiorentina captain Davide Astori passed away aged just 31 over the weekend, which may have led some footballers to reassess the state of their careers and take better care if they do have health concerns.
However, this surely has to be taken with a fairly large pinch of salt for the moment until the club announce anything or the player himself can be approached for comment.
