"You know it when you no longer feel the fire inside. That's the moment. There's no point in continuing to play, dragging yourself out and no longer having fun. When I started to feel all this, I made the decision. I felt good on the pitch right up until the end."
"I think the first or second year with Milan. But I also had glimpses with Atalanta and Fiorentina. It's hard to pinpoint a specific period: maybe when you're younger you're more daring, even physically, but then with experience you become a better player. Between the ages of 30 and 32 I felt more confident."
"I'd already made up my mind a while ago, but I didn't feel the need to say it. I knew I'd stopped, but I started getting calls from friends, my agent, and some clubs: I thought it was right to let everyone know."
Giacomo Bonaventura officially retired from professional football at age 36 after his final stint with Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab. He joined AC Milan in 2014 from Atalanta and became a star player, making 184 appearances and scoring 35 goals. His major achievement was winning the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana. He left Milan in 2020 as a fan-favourite, then spent four years at Fiorentina before moving to the Middle East. Bonaventura decided to retire when he no longer felt the competitive drive, preferring to end his career on his own terms rather than continue at a diminished level. He identified his early years at Milan as the best period of his career.
Read at SempreMilan
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