Previous Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright announced that he was stopping professional football. The reason for stopping professional football was to concentrate on a TV career. He announced his retirement on 7 June 2000.
The 37-year-old had recently been on loan at third-level Burnley for a quarter of a year, helping them advance Division One when he called time on his career that began in 1985, finishing with 324 goals in 626 games.
The tale of Wright is notable, coming through non-league after a troublesome youth and making his name at Crystal Palace, scoring two goals in the final of the 1990 FA Cup.
Yet, it was at Arsenal that, all through the 1990s, he became a commonly recognized name with steady performances which earned his 33 caps in England.
On his way to helping the team reach two FA Cups, a League Cup, a UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, and most memorably a Premier League title in his final campaign at Highbury, he regularly overtook the scoring charts.
Wright broke Cliff Bastin ‘s record of 178 goals for the Gunners during the 1997-98 season – a feat Thierry Henry has since beaten.
He spent the latter years of his career at West Ham, Celtic, and Burnley, yet alluded to a career on TV, and in 2000 Wright called it stops.
He immediately got a raft of facilitating gigs including his talk appear and popular Friends Like These game show, while facilitating the renewed Gladiators as well. Since retirement, he has also been a daily intellectual for both the BBC and ITV.
