Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix great Marco Rojas has announced his retirement from professional football.
The 33-year-old New Zealand international made 155 Isuzu UTE A-League appearances across a 16-year span, with stints at the Phoenix, Victory and Brisbane Roar interspersed between moves abroad at clubs in both Europe and South America.
The All Whites winger returned to Wellington for the Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 season but injuries curtailed his Phoenix comeback; Rojas made just seven appearances last term before the mutual agreement to terminate his contract three months early.
Earlier this month, Rojas returned briefly to his former club Victory to take part in pre-season training, eager to determine whether or not he had the ability to go around for another season – and, equally importantly, whether he wanted to.
After the short training stint at Victory, a decision was made as Rojas confirmed his retirement from the professional game.
“Having arrived in Melbourne from Chile, I decided that there was a scratch I needed to itch,” Rojas wrote on social media.
“(I) decided that I needed to go and train like a pro just one more time and put the curiosity and the question to bed, can I/do I want to do it again?
“Now I can put the curiosity to bed, and acknowledge that it’s time for me to move on. I am ready. I will not be playing anymore week in and week out like the professionals do.
“I’m yet to know what type of football I might play down the line, although I really love the idea of keeping fit for the odd charity or community game.”
Rojas went on to confirm that he would continue to keep his fans abreast of his movements in the coming months, sharing written updates and images on social media as well as videos on a newly-created YouTube channel.
“My hope with everything I do is to help ease the space for others when they retire,” Rojas’ statement continued.
“It’s a long time we don’t play after our 30s and there’s so much we can do. We must try.
“Also just to reconnect with everyone from a different perspective. Celebrating moving, writing about family and doing what I can to help the future generations and our communities.
“We will see how it goes. And shout out to Melbourne Victory. Thank you for letting me train (and) scratch that last itch.”
