DUNDALK DEFENDER BRIAN Gartland has announced his retirement from football after a success-laden decade with the Lilywhites.
Gartland, 36, won five League of Ireland Premier Division titles with Dundalk as well as three FAI Cups.
The Dubliner’s decision to hang up his boots stems from the cruciate ligament injury he picked up against Shamrock Rovers 18 months ago.
Though club captain Gartland appeared for Dundalk in a pre-season friendly with Cobh Ramblers in January, the physical knock-on effects from the cruciate blow have hampered his efforts to get back on the pitch properly in 2022.
That's me retired from the professional game.
— Brian Gartland (@B_Garts) December 3, 2022
I bloody love football ⚽️❤️ pic.twitter.com/tX76AC9bNL
🖤 One of our best ever.
— Dundalk FC (@DundalkFC) December 3, 2022
🏁 Thanks, Garts.#Legend #Hero pic.twitter.com/zpCMYlCxG6
“It’s been incredible,” Gartland said of his career on Twitter.
“I gave it everything. I’ve loved every minute of it… and I’ve dreaded this day.
“I gave it one last shot but unfortunately after the injury the body just can’t get back and stay fit enough to do the job I love.”
A Dundalk statement said that, “After ten seasons at Oriel Park, club captain Brian Gartland, one of the greatest players to wear a Dundalk jersey, has announced his retirement from football at the age of 36. Thanks for everything.”
I wouldn’t bet on him playing for Real next season just yet .
@Limón Madrugada: I agree, defiantly not in the league games unless he really seems to prosper. Vinicius I feel was played too often and too fast this season too. He needs to work on his finishing
If I was going to start playing for Real Madrid I’d probably be vomiting too. Despicable club with the most ungrateful supporters.
@Vinny O’Shaughnessy: this statement is completely false. Every club has a small number of toxic supporters but that’s just football. Compared to other teams we aren’t too bad. Look at serie-A fans calling black players monkeys and so on. Yes some fans fail to show respect to club legends but that’s a common trait in Spain. Barcelona fans, Atletico fans etc are the same
@Claire Con: all well and good to point the finger but Real Madrid fans have also racially abused black opposition player, Dembele got it in El Clásico in February. But we both know that the commenter was referring to the amount of abuse and booing Real fans give their own players at the earliest sign of any problem.
@Dave O Keeffe: just not true.
@Claire Con: in fairness he said ungrateful fans
@Vinny O’Shaughnessy: cheap shot. Jealousy no doubt. What’s your club won this decade so far???
@Dave O Keeffe: and like I said, unfortunately fans like that exist everywhere. In fairness it isn’t as regular of an occurrence like in Italy (thank God) but unfortunately Spanish fans tend to be aggressive.
@Kieran Fogarty: in fairness he called the club despicable. Not the most accurate comment when you compare the club to others.
@Claire Con: Mbappe
@Limón Madrugada: several sources, including Dembele himself.
@Claire Con: except you specifically singled out serie A fans for racism as a defense of Madrid fans. In no way am I saying it’s just Madrid. It’s pretty prevalent in Spain.
@Dave O Keeffe: I wasn’t necessarily singling our anyone. I simply mean that this isn’t an irregular occurrence in serie A games. Literally something happens every game.