Vardy to leave Leicester at end of the season

Leicester City captain Jamie Vardy will leave the club at the end of the season but intends to continue his playing career.

Announcing the news on Wednesday, the Foxes described Vardy as "our greatest ever player".

The 38-year-old striker, who joined in 2012 from non-league side Fleetwood Town, is the club's record Premier League scorer with 143, and in all competitions has scored 198 goals in 498 appearances.

Vardy scored 24 times in the 2015-16 Premier League campaign, helping Leicester to the first ever top-flight title in their history.

The former England international was also part of their 2021 FA Cup-winning side, when the Foxes beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley.

"To the fans of Leicester, I'm gutted that this day is coming, but I knew it was going to come eventually," Vardy said in a video posted by Leicester on social media.

"I've spent 13 unbelievable years at this club, with lots of success, and some downs, but the majority have all been highs.

"It's finally time to call it a day, which I'm devastated about, but I think the timing is right.

"Leicester will always, always have a massive place in my heart."

He added: "This isn't retirement. I want to keep on playing and doing what I enjoy most - scoring goals.

"I may be 38 but I still have the desire and ambition to achieve so much more."

Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy said Vardy had stuck with the club "through thick and thin", adding: "He has achieved everything and now can go and enjoy these last years with his family.

"For his next manager, he is one of the most open and honest people I have met.

"He will tell you how he feels and what he is thinking. He isn't hard to manage."

Vardy described the club's season as "miserable" and a "total embarrassment" after the Foxes were relegated earlier this month.

Leicester are 19th in the table, having collected 18 points from their 33 matches.

From the 'great escape' to Premier League glory

After helping the club back into the top flight during his second season in the Midlands, Vardy was then an instrumental figure in the side's 'great escape' in the 2014-15 campaign.

Bottom of the table at Christmas and with just four wins by the start of April, the Foxes seemed destined to return to the Championship.

But 22 points from their final nine matches helped Nigel Pearson's side complete the most unlikely of revivals.

If that was unlikely, then what followed was unfathomable.

Leicester, 5,000-1 outsiders at the start of the season, went on to win their first ever top-flight title as they were crowned Premier League champions in 2015-16 under the management of Claudio Ranieri.

Vardy was named the Premier League Player of the Season after scoring 24 times in 36 appearances, including a record-breaking run that saw him find the net in 11 consecutive league matches - a mark that still stands today.

Vardy would go on to score in the side's subsequent Champions League campaign and he was the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019-20 with 23 goals.

The forward became the first player in FA Cup history to appear in 13 of the 14 rounds of the competition when he played in the 2021 FA Cup final as the Foxes, managed by Brendan Rodgers, lifted the trophy for the first time in their history.

Jamie Vardy is Leicester's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, and their third-highest scorer overall

Relegation and captaincy

Vardy remained with the Foxes after their relegation from the Premier League in 2023.

He hit 18 goals in 35 matches in the Championship after being named club captain by Enzo Maresca, helping them to win the title 10 years after Vardy's first promotion with Leicester.

Vardy has featured in 31 of the east Midlands club's 33 Premier League matches this term, scoring seven times.

His final game at the King Power Stadium will be on 18 March, when the Foxes host Ipswich.