Jamie Vardy Set to Leave Leicester City After This Season

Leicester City’s legendary striker Jamie Vardy is set to leave the club at the end of the 2024-25 season after spending more than a decade at the club.

The 38-year-old was synonymous with Leicester’s rise from the Championship to the Premier League, and spectacularly became Premier League champions in the process.

The early years of his career were bouncing between non-league clubs. He was signed by Leicester City from Fleetwood Town in 2012 for a non-league record of £1 million. Few could have predicted the impact he would have, perhaps making him one of the greatest value-for-money transfers in the sport’s history.

Over his tenure at Leicester, he would score 190 goals in 479 appearances, making him the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League era. In the 2015-16 season, he scored 24 goals on the way to winning the Premier League.

The decision for Vardy to leave comes as his contract expires at the end of this season. Now, with Leicester relegated and set to play in the Championship next season, Vardy will reportedly consider his options between the MLS or Saudi Pro League — although retirement altogether has not been ruled out.

Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy said in a press conference today, “Jamie’s been unbelievable, a proper legend.”

The club will now face the challenge of replacing the veteran. While they have younger talents in Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho, neither has yet to suggest that they are able to match Vardy’s clinical edge. They will be tasked with replacing both his goalscoring and leadership to galvanize the team through rough patches.

“But we’ve got to look forward,” van Nistelrooy said, “We have to build the squad for the future.”