Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Former Denmark captain Simon Kjaer has formally retired from soccer despite offers to continue playing since he left AC Milan as a free agent last year. Kjaer will perhaps be best remembered as the captain who led teammates in shielding Christian Eriksen on the field during a European Championship game in June 2021. The star playmaker had collapsed because of cardiac arrest. Eriksen resumed his career and only his record 140 appearances for Denmark is ahead of Kjaer's 132. The 35-year-old Kjaer tells Danish broadcaster TV2 he could have signed for Champions League clubs but didn't get a "once-in-a-lifetime" offer.
