Carl Ikeme retires from football

Super Eagles number one goalkeeper Carl Ikeme has retired from football. Ikeme who missed the world cup after being diagnosed of leukemia,made his decision to quit the round leather game public on Friday, while expressing satisfaction with his effort while his romance with the game lasted.  He also thanked everyone who has contributed in one way or the other to his past exploits in the game. 

The Wolves star who gave the Super Eagles moral support all through the effort in Russia through constant prayer contributed in no small measure to Nigeria's qualification for the world cup especially during the qualifiers where he turned into a stumbling block to opponents who had done everything within their powers to stop Ngeria from qualifying for the Mundial.

"Thank you for the support over the years . My last day as a footballer. But one I am happy and great full for !!! Thanks to everyone to do with @wolves and everyone in football I have met," he submitted Friday via @Carl_Ikeme

Carl Onora Ikeme spent his entire career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, making 207 appearances across all competitions. He was part of their teams that won the Championship in 2009 and League One in 2014, and he made one Premier League appearance in 2012. Throughout his time at Wolves, he was loaned to eight other clubs. Born and raised in England, Ikeme chose to represent Nigeria at international level, earning ten caps between 2015 and 2016.

He was first called up to the "Super Eagles" squad in March 2007 by new manager Berti Vogts, who named a 37-man provisional squad for a 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Uganda that introduced other foreign-born players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Toto Tamuz.

He made his international debut for Nigeria on 5 September 2015 against Tanzania in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game.Ikeme made three appearances early on in Nigeria's successful qualification campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but could not go to the final tournament due to his cancer treatment, which manager Gernot Rohr called his greatest regret.

On 6 July 2017, Wolverhampton Wanderers announced that Ikeme had been diagnosed with acute leukaemia after returning abnormal blood tests during a routine pre-season check-up. On 23 June 2018, he told the public that he was in "complete remission" after "a tough year and intense chemotherapy". He announced his retirement on medical grounds on 27 July.