Reluctant hero Allen bids quiet but proud farewell

Midfielder Joe Allen has made almost 600 club appearances and won 77 caps for Wales

Joe Allen once said that he wished he could have worn an invisibility cloak throughout his career, such was his unease about the attention that comes with being an elite footballer.

The midfielder made the comment during a conversation he had recorded for a podcast with his good friend and former Wales and Swansea City team-mate Owain Tudur Jones.

That was a rare insight into Allen's innermost thoughts. Although he is approachable and a thoughtful, articulate interviewee, the 35-year-old prefers the quiet life to the one his sporting gifts have bestowed upon him.

But it is difficult to shun the limelight completely when Gareth Bale – Wales' greatest player of all, in most people's eyes – describes you as a "legend".

A central figure in Wales' golden age, Allen was a whirring, combative constant as his country soared to dizzying new heights with their inspiring ascent to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.

The midfielder was named in Uefa's team of the tournament in France, and then helped Wales qualify for the next European Championship as well as a first World Cup in 64 years.

"I'm incredibly proud," Allen says. "To be part of this group and era that have had many great times has been a privilege, a real honour.

"The team-mates and staff I've worked with have made it incredibly special. The support both for club and country in my career has been exceptional as well."

Allen reflects on his career in the same way he played – selfless, considered, passionate.

He was more than a cog in the machine; his technical quality on the ball set the tone for his teams as much as his tenacity without possession.

That is why Brendan Rodgers took the then 22-year-old he had dubbed 'The Welsh Xavi' with him from Swansea to Liverpool in 2012.

Allen would make more than 100 appearances for the Reds and then later, after six years with Stoke City, in 2022 he came home to Swansea, the club he had supported as a boy and joined as a nine-year-old.

Allen's hero status was already secured having been part of the Swans team promoted to the Premier League a decade earlier, but his second spell was hindered by injury.

As the end of his career came into view, Allen's game-time gradually decreased as his powers waned. Ultimately, he had the self-awareness to know when the time was right to retire.

"Getting older and the physical demands, the punishment that the body's gone through already and staying fit since coming back has been an issue," Allen says.

"It's not going to get any easier. It's been a dream to come back and have three years at this club. I haven't been able to play or give as much I wanted, but it's been a pleasure to come back and I'm looking forward to a home game to wrap up this season and my career."

No 'fairytale ending' for a Wales great

Swansea's final game of the Championship season at home to Oxford United on Saturday will be Allen's last, but there will be no such curtain call with Wales.

Allen had retired from international football in the wake of Wales' group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup, only to be persuaded to reverse his decision last year by head coach Craig Bellamy.

Only a couple of months into his tenure, Bellamy spoke glowingly about Allen, not only as a player but as a role model for the younger members of his squad.

"He was great. These conversations are tough to have but he was nothing but supportive," Allen says about the moment when he told Bellamy he would be retiring permanently.

"I thanked him for everything he's done for me. I played with him as a team-mate and also had him as a manager and learned a lot from him from both sides. I'll always be grateful for him giving me the opportunity to come back to the squad.

"He had some really important advice I'll certainly be using once retirement happens."

Joe Allen (centre), Gareth Bale (left) and Neil Taylor helped Wales beat Belgium 3-1 in their momentous Euro 2016 quarter-final

Bellamy had said he wanted to give Allen the "fairytale ending" his Wales career deserved, but that will not happen now.

He was at least given a rapturous welcome by his adoring fans when he came on as a substitute against Montenegro last October, his first international appearance for nearly two years.

But as Allen himself readily admits, he was no longer the force he once was for his country.

A rare misplaced pass against North Macedonia in March almost consigned Wales to a last-gasp defeat in their World Cup qualifier, only for David Brooks to equalise even deeper into added time.

"It was a shocker," Allen says, now able to laugh at what was a "depressing" moment at the time.

"The team dug me out of a big hole by equalising. But no regrets, it was great to come back and pull on the shirt again."

Tellingly, Brooks said in his post-match interviews that he and his team-mates were even more determined to level the game so the "legend" Allen was not blamed for defeat.

Even though Wales were able to salvage a draw in Skopje, it is a little sad that Allen was not able to bid farewell on home soil.

Then again, he had avoided such fanfare when he first announced his international retirement.

This time around, the aim was to qualify for the 2026 World Cup but, if those hopes were beginning to fade, Allen felt he could not continue.

"That was a big part of the decision. My instinct told me I wasn't going to get there," he says.

"Or, if I did get there, it wasn't going to be at the level I wanted to be representing my country at a World Cup."

No World Cup final act and no swansong this summer, as Allen did not entertain the idea of making Wales' next game - a qualifier at home to Liechtenstein in June - a personal send-off.

"I think it would have complicated things in many ways to have played my last club game, be retired, and then turn up for international football," he says.

"A tough choice but one I think made sense."

And so when Wales return to Cardiff City Stadium in June, they will be beginning life after Joe Allen once again.

A nation will show its appreciation for one of its greats, but he will not be on the pitch to soak up the adulation.

For a man who wanted the anonymity of invisibility during his stellar career, that sounds about right.