Former Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini is set to retire from football aged 35.
As reported by Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Belgian will bring his football career to an end after five years in China.
Marouane Fellaini’s time in the Premier League is slightly tainted by his poor spell at Manchester United, however he will always be fondly remembered by Everton supporters.
The midfielder arrived at Goodison Park in a £15 million deal from Standard Liege in 2008 and quickly became a fan favourite, being named the Toffees’ Young Player of the Season in his first campaign.
Fellaini scored 33 goals in 177 appearances for Everton before he followed David Moyes to Manchester United.
The former Belgium international had become a key player under Moyes, with the Scot going onto claim he was ‘one of the best in the world’ for his ‘fantastic’ chest control. However, he was unable to keep up his form at Old Trafford.
Fellaini struggled to retain a regular spot in United’s squad and was named by The Daily Telegraph as ‘one of the 10 Worst Transfers of the Premier League season’ in 2014.
Everton’s Marouane Fellaini (2nd L) cele
Photo credit should read CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images
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Fellaini moved to China with Shandong Taishan in 2019 and has since won the Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup three times.
While the midfielder is yet to confirm his retirement, Shandog Taishan manager Choi Kang-hee has revealed his plans.
Choi said: “Though with some regret, I respect his decision to retire.
“He is a very great player. Maybe due to his age, his every post-game recovery was rather painstaking, which usually took one day or two.”
Marouane Fellaini represents a brilliant period in Everton’s recent history
Marouane Fellaini will be remembered as one of a number of players that enjoyed some brilliant years at Goodison Park.
Perhaps we took for granted a team that consisted of the likes of Fellaini, Tim Cahill and Nikica Jelavic. This Everton squad are far from the glory days that Moyes brought to Merseyside, but could Sean Dyche add to the excitement of recent weeks?
The Toffees definitely have some much-loved players such as Jordan Pickford and Abdoulaye Doucoure, but perhaps they are placed on this pedestal because of the low standards at the club in recent years.
Everton are a huge club and need to get back to the days of Marouane Fellaini. But for now, we wish him luck after a brilliant career.
