Former England midfielder Adam Lallana has retired from playing at the age of 37.

Lallana, who won 34 caps for his country, returned to Southampton last season after making his name in his first spell there.

He only made five starts as Saints were relegated to the Championship but also worked as a coach, a role he will continue at St Mary’s under new boss Will Still.

Lallana joined Liverpool from Saints for £25m in 2014 and went on to win the Premier League and Champions League.

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“As I call time on my playing career, I do so with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and pride,” Lallana said on his social media accounts., external

“Southampton… the place where it all started, and fittingly where it ends. It’s the club I ultimately owe everything to.”

Lallana came through Southampton’s academy before making his debut for the first team as an 18-year-old in 2006.

He went on to feature more than 250 times for Saints and was part of the squad that won back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

Lallana was captain when he left for Anfield during a summer where he also played for England at the 2014 World Cup.

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After winning the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019 and the league title the following campaign, Lallana joined Brighton before returning to St Mary’s in 2024.

“I’m proud of the playing career I’ve had and have no regrets about any of it,” Lallana added.

“I embrace all the highs and all the lows as they’ve shaped me into who I am.

“To everyone who made the journey so special, the staff at each club and organisation, the managers and coaches, my teammates, and of course the supporters — thank you.

“But most of all, to my own team… my family. My wife Emily, our amazing sons, my mum, dad and sister, thank you for putting up with me and being in my corner through it all.

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“I’m excited for whatever the future brings.”

As the table above shows, 29 players have won the U21 Euros and then a major senior tournament – including Laurent Blanc, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Totti and Manuel Neuer.

Not just counting the winning team, many of the world’s best players have impressed at previous European Under-21 Championships.

Among the players to win the best player of the tournament award were Rudi Voller, Blanc, Davor Suker, Luis Figo, Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Petr Cech, Juan Mata, Thiago and Fabian Ruiz.

However, there are a few outliers.

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Renato Buso and the late Francesc Arnau never won a senior cap for Italy or Spain respectively, while Royston Drenthe only played once for the Netherlands. Arsenal’s Fabio Vieira, 25, has yet to feature for the Portugal senior team.

Sweden’s Marcus Berg had a good goal-laden career, although never played for one of Europe’s top clubs.

The list of Golden Boot winners is more of a mixed bag.

Andrea Pirlo, despite being a midfielder, Alberto Gilardino and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were among the previous winners.

But Massimo Maccarone, Maceo Rigters, Jan Kliment or Luca Waldschmidt are unlikely to have any statues made of them.

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Germany’s Nick Woltemade is the top scorer in this tournament with five goals – two clear of three different players.

Governing body Fifa’s three-step process for racist incidents is stopping a match, suspending it and abandoning it if the problem continues.

Speaking after the game Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso said Rudiger had complained of a racist incident.

“In football there is no tolerance for this, and if it happened, then measures should be taken,” he said. “This is what Antonio has told us and we believe him. It’s being investigated now”.

Cabral said: “It was a fight. We collided. He said that I hit him with my hand, and then there was an argument and the referee made the racism sign, but I was telling him the same thing the whole time.”

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In 2021 Rudiger, then at Chelsea, said “nothing ever really changes” after anti-discrimination campaigns in football, but that he will “continue to fight” against racist abuse.

Last week, campaigners criticised Fifa after it appeared to drop anti-racism messaging at the Club World Cup.