Speaking at the Oxford Union on Wednesday night with wife Rebekah, Vardy said: "Coming into the game later I'm hoping that I can go on a lot longer.

"I didn't have that training that someone who went from the academy straight into the first team and plays until 34 would have had.

"Legs wise, I feel fine – there's a good few years in them left. I'm not losing any speed, and all my measurements at Leicester have been exactly the same as they used to be.

"When I go out onto the pitch, I don't feel 31 at all – I feel like I'm in my early 20s."

Vardy, who has scored 92 goals in 245 games for Leicester and won a shock Premier League title in 2016, also reiterated his reasons for quitting England after the World Cup.

"I spoke to my agent, to Bex, straight after the World Cup. I'm not getting any younger, and the main point was I was missing being at home, being with my kids," he said.

"There's a lot of spare time on England duty when you're thinking 'I'd much rather be at home'. I think I could have played more at the World Cup but that decision's not down to me.

"I accepted Gareth's decision and it wasn't to be. But the main thing was that I got that opportunity to play in the World Cup, and if you think about where I came from, I never thought I'd get that chance."

Vardy is the second active Premier League player to speak at the Union after Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin in February. Tony Pulis, Gary Neville, and Roy Hodgson have also spoken.

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