All good things must come to an end, and around this time every year, a number of footballing veterans say sayonara to the beautiful game as they prepare to hang up their boots.
Traditionally, summer has been the season of retirement announcements, and in 2024, the Euros will offer players in the twilight of their careers an opportunity to enjoy one final swansong for their countries before they bid farewell to the game.
Already, several superstars have admitted that Euro 2024 will be their last act as a top-level performer, while other aging combatants could also use this summer's tournament as their stage for a last hurrah.
Below, we've taken a closer look at some of the players who will definitely retire after Euro 2024, as well as some of the others who might follow suit.
Toni Kroos
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Few players have enjoyed a more trophy-laden career than Toni Kroos. But at the age of 34, the silky midfielder is expected to march off into the sunset after Germany's involvement at Euro 2024.
Speaking earlier this year on the podcast he hosts alongside his brother, Kroos said: "Anyone who has listened carefully over the last few years will have heard me say that the only option for me is to finish my career at Real Madrid. My last season at Real means that this summer will be the end. No more Real, no more football."
Kroos has long-maintained his desire to end his career on a high note, and Real Madrid's La Liga and Champions League double offers him the chance to do just that. Of course, a follow-up success on the international scene with hosts Germany at the Euros would be the cherry on top.
The five-time Champions League winner had already retired from international football once (in 2021) though he was coaxed back into the fold by Die Mannschaft boss Julian Nagelsmann earlier this year, and will duly anchor the German midfield one last time this summer.
Luka Modric
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Another Real Madrid midfield mainstay, Luka Modric, announced this week that he had penned a fresh one-year deal with Los Blancos. That will keep him in Spain until 2025, though the 39-year-old's future at international level is still up for debate.
Last year, Modric hinted in an interview that Euro 2024 would be his "last dance" for his homeland, though nothing concrete has been declared since.
Modric has amassed a remarkable 174 caps since making his debut for Croatia in 2006, and despite his advancing years, the country's skipper will be among the most accomplished midfielders on German soil this summer.
Olivier Giroud
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If he follows through on his own plans, prolific striker Olivier Giroud will turn out for France for the last time at Euro 2024 in Germany. In a recent conversation with French outlet L'Equipe, Giroud confirmed: "This will be my last competition with Les Bleus. I'm going to miss it a lot."
The 37-year-old, who is France's record all-time goalscorer with 57 goals, scored four times during his country's run to the World Cup Final in Qatar, including a late winner against England in the quarter-finals.
Claiming that he does not want to play "one season too many", Giroud has also made the switch stateside to join LAFC in the MLS, following the expiration of his contract with Italian giants AC Milan.
France are among the favourites to win Euro 2024 in Germany this summer and Giroud is expected to lead the line for Didier Deschamps' outfit.
Cristiano Ronaldo
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Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo shot down suggestions that the 2024 European Championships might be his last major tournament for Portugal, saying: "I hope I will be at Euro 2024 as there is still a lot of time left. I hope I won't have any problem or injury, I hope to play."
However, Ronaldo's chances of spearheading the Portuguese attack at the 2026 World Cup or at Euro 2028 seem slim, even by his own superhuman standards. He would be 43 years old at the latter tournament, duly becoming the Euros' very first outfield player to be aged over 40.
But with father time working against him, it isn't outlandish to think that this summer's tournament could be the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's last involvement in a major international competition.
Pepe
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At present, ex-Hungary keeper Gabor Kiraly holds the title as the oldest player ever to appear at a European Championships. However, 41-year-old Pepe would surpass the former stopper if he sees action at the upcoming tournament.
Impressively, Pepe racked up over 30 appearances in all competitions for his Porto during the 2023/24 campaign, and he has already earned two caps for Portugal since the turn of the year. There are no plans in the public realm to retire for the defender either, but the likelihood of him extending his international career for much longer seems wafer thin.
Despite being a Portuguese centurion with 136 caps, Pepe isn't guaranteed to be a starter for head coach Roberto Martinez, though if there is nothing at stake by group matchday three, he could get the nod ahead of one of Ruben Dias, Goncalo Inacio and Antonio Silva.
