Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will not return as a professional football player, as you know Football International report on Tuesday afternoon. The 38-year-old striker left this summer after a disappointing six months at Schalke 04 and has not found a new club. Although he is ‘officially’ still thinking about a next step, he has already put an end to his career in his head, the weekly reports.
Huntelaar wanted to leave Ajax in January of this year to protect his German love Schalke 04 from relegation. The Königsblauen were already inglorious at the bottom and Huntelaar was unable to change that despite two goals in nine league matches. Schalke 04 relegated with only sixteen points as the last player from the Bundesliga and a time of reflection began for Huntelaar.
The 76-time the Dutch international, who scored 42 times for the national team, had various offers to take on one more adventure in the Netherlands. Marcel Boekhoorn made a lucrative offer on behalf of NEC, while Eredivisie clubs such as FC Twente and sc Heerenveen also made an attempt. Huntelaar had also been able to work in the Kitchen Champion Division with his childhood sweetheart De Graafschap, for which he played nine games in 2003.
Huntelaar decided not to go into it and thus put an end to his glorious career. The center striker broke through in professional football at PSV, but only made a name for himself at AGOVV and sc Heerenveen. He reached the Dutch top at Ajax and got a dream transfer to Real Madrid in 2009. After only one year in Spain and one season at AC Milan, Huntelaar came into his own with Schalke. He stayed in Gelsenkirchen for seven years, before playing another three and a half seasons at Ajax. The last six months he was active again for Schalke. In his entire club career, Huntelaar produced 366 goals and 89 assists in 662 official games.
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