LEICESTER, England (AP) — Jamie Vardy marked his 500th and final match for Leicester with a farewell goal — his 200th for the club he has represented for exactly 13 years.
The 38-year-old striker scored in the 28th minute to put Leicester ahead against Ipswich at King Power Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.
Vardy ran to the corner flag, pulled it out and raised it aloft before being mobbed by his fellow Leicester players.
He was substituted in the 80th minute of a match Leicester won 2-0 and was given a guard of honor by his teammates as he walked off the field. Fans waved flags with the words “Thank You Vards” on them.
Grabbing a landmark goal is a fitting way to go out for Vardy, a player Leicester has described as its “greatest ever” after he famously helped the team to win the Premier League title in 2016 at preseason odds of 5,000-1. Many of Vardy’s teammates from that season, like Wes Morgan and Shinji Okazaki, were present Sunday to watch his final Leicester game.
In that title-winning campaign, Vardy netted in a record 11 straight games to inspire one of the great underdog stories in sporting history. Vardy is still going strong, scoring nine times in this campaign to back up his assertion that he can still play at the highest level. It hasn’t been announced where he will play next.
Leicester still has another league game left after that — at Bournemouth on May 25 in the Premier League’s final round — but Vardy’s last appearance for the team will be against Ipswich.
Vardy joined Leicester from non-league team Fleetwood Town for 1 million pounds (now $1.33 million) in May 2012 — exactly 13 years ago.
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