Leicester have revealed when Jamie Vardy will play his last match in club colours as the Foxes legend prepares to move on at the end of the season.
The striker has etched his name into the history books after over a decade of unprecedented success at the Midlands club, with Vardy helping Leicester win their first ever Premier League title and FA Cup.
Vardy joined Leicester from non-league Fleetwood for £1million in 2012 and over the course of 499 matches across all competitions, the player has scored a mammoth 199 goals.
The 39-year-old also won individual plaudits in Leicester’s colours, including the 2020 Golden Boot, and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Year in 2015-16.
Vardy has been adamant that his career is not over, and that he is keen to continue playing ahead of turning 40.
But the King Power faithful will have just one more chance to watch their player in action.
Leicester have revealed where Jamie Vardy will play his last match in the club’s colours
The husband of celebrity WAG Rebekah Vardy has spent over a decade at the King Power
Now the soon-to-be Championship outfit are keen to give Vardy the send-off he deserves
Leicester appeared to announce that the club’s penultimate Premier League home game, against fellow relegated side Ipswich, will be the last time for a ‘Vardy party’.
Vardy will then take his leave for the final match Leicester will play in the top flight for the foreseeable future, against Bournemouth on the final day of the season.
When publicising the fixture, they used a picture of Vardy as well as sharing the goat emoji, in a fitting tribute to their ‘greatest of all time’ record goal-scorer.
Sunday’s fixture will allow Vardy to round up his appearances to a landmark 500, with hopes of his goal tally reaching a double century.
But despite the mammoth total, Vardy will remain someway off the club’s record appearance-maker Graham Cross, who made 600 appearances across all competitions between 1961 and 1975.
Vardy’s family will also likely be in attendance for the last home game of the season, with wife Rebekah a frequent fixture at his matches over the years.
Last weekend saw Rebekah drinking with travelling Leicester fans during their trip to Nottingham Forest, in her first public appearance since she agreed to pay £1.19m of Coleen Rooney’s legal bill.
Rebekah was also ordered to stump up £212,266 in assessment courts, after losing their high-profile libel case dubbed ‘Wagatha Christie’.
It is not yet known where the Vardys will choose to settle, with Vardy keen to keep playing
Vardy was pictured enjoying Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City in the away end
Rebekah’s appearance in the stands came just days after she agree to pay Coleen Rooney a seven-figure sum after losing their courtroom showdown
But Vardy, 43, was all smiles on Saturday as she wore her sunglasses for a balmy afternoon out watching the delights of the Premier League.
Vardy announced his farewell at the end of last month, with his goodbye message to the fans stressing how ‘gutted’ he was to be sharing the statement.
‘It has been 13 unbelievable years at this club, with lots of success, some downs, but the majority all highs. It’s finally time to call it a day, which I’m devastated about but I think the timing is right,’ Vardy said.
‘I just want to sincerely thank you all for taking you in as one of your own. Leicester will always have a massive place in my heart and I’ll make sure I’ll be following in the years to come in what I hope will be even more success for the club.
‘As for now, this is my goodbye, but you will see me again soon I promise. Thank you.’
Whether his future lies in English football is another matter. There is thought to be interest from clubs in Major League Soccer and Saudi Arabia, though Vardy believes he can still score at the highest level.
If a Premier League side offered him a deal, it would likely be a heavily performance-based one.
Leicester’s Premier League win in 2016 – thanks in huge part to his goals – is one of the most extraordinary stories in modern football
He also helped steer the Foxes to their first ever FA Cup win after beating Chelsea in the final and they won the Championship in 2024
But this season Vardy suffered relegation and has described the campaign as a ‘s***show’
Even during a dire season for Leicester, which will end in an immediate return to the Championship, he still led the attack for much of the campaign, scoring eight goals in 32 appearances.
He was trusted by both Steve Cooper and Ruud van Nistelrooy and is one of the few players to emerge with some credit this term.
Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: ‘Jamie is unique. He is a special player and an even more special person.
‘He holds a place in the hearts of everyone connected to Leicester City, and he certainly has my deepest respect and affection. I am endlessly grateful for everything he has given to this club.’
