TOTTENHAM flop Roberto Soldado has announced his retirement from football on Instagram with a two-word message.
The former Spain man sat down in front of the camera to recount his career and captioned the post “Hasta Siempre” which translates as “Good bye, until later”.
The emotional Instagram post was accompanied by Soldado’s goals throughout his career – which saw him play for the likes of Real Madrid, Valencia, Spurs and Fenerbache among others.
His time in England will be remembered for his miserable stint at Tottenham Hotspur.
Soldado arrived as part of Tottenham’s ‘magnificent seven’ – the seven players signed by Andre Villas Boas to replace Gareth Bale when he left for Real Madrid.
He was seen as the jewel in the seven’s crown after scoring an impressive 24 goals in 35 games for Valencia in the 2012-13 season.
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The forward cost the club a then record fee of £26million in 2013.
But he struggled to settle in North London and managed just 16 goals in 76 appearances for the Lilywhites.
His effort, and sometimes desperation for a goal, saw him become a cult hero of sorts, becoming affectionately known as “Bobby Soldier” in the White Hart Lane stands.
He was eventually usurped in the starting XI by a young Harry Kane and was sold to Villareal in 2015.
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Kane has been heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich this summer – which could force Spurs to sign their first big-money number nine since Soldado’s arrival in 2013.
After leaving Tottenham for Villareal, Soldado went on to play for Fenerbache and Granada before ending his career at second division side Levante.
He spent the last three months of his career without a club after Levante did not renew his contract this summer.
Fans paid tribute to Soldado’s career online, with a Spurs fan writing: “If anyone deserved to succeed here it was Soldado. He loved Spurs so much.”
The Europa Conference League also posted well wishes to Soldado, tweeting a picture of him in a Fenerbache shirt.
The caption read: “Enjoy your retirement, Roberto Soldado.”
And Turkish fans from his time in Istanbul added their well wishes.
One fan wrote: “Underrated gunner, ugly fighter you’ll be the one I won’t forget.”
Another added: “I can’t forget the goal he scored against Besiktas in the cup.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
