Sunday marked Jamie Vardy’s last ever appearance at the King Power Stadium for Leicester, and he reflected on his 13 years there in typically-humorous fashion at full time.
Vardy is a Premier League legend and has brought more to England’s top division than just goals. He has become renowned for his feisty on-field persona and wind-ups with opposition fans.
But now, the Premier League potentially waves goodbye to someone who regularly had fans out their seats (for a variety of reasons).
After crowning his last home appearance with his 200th Leicester goal in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Ipswich Town, Vardy addressed the home crowd and had 30,000 fans chuckling away.
Jamie Vardy’s hilarious final speech as a Leicester player
When quizzed about his emotions following his Foxes departure, some may have been expecting a heartfelt reflection on his time at the club.
Instead, Vardy said “Yeah, I’m fine to be totally honest with you”, in a typically straight-forward manner.
“When JJ (James Justin) put me through there, I was never going to miss it. And obviously getting the dog’s abuse from the away fans, there was only one place I was going”, said Vardy reflecting on his milestone goal for the club.
Despite his initially stoic response, Leicester’s title-winning hero in 2015/16 did proceed to open up to the King Power faithful.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. Really has. But the good thing is there’s been way, way, way more highs. I’d have never thought we’d be in the Champions League, winning the league and we’ve all been there to enjoy it”, Vardy continued.
“Football is a killer mentally and I couldn’t do it all again if I’m honest. But I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I look forward to keeping an eye on the club I love”.
Leicester City’s greatest ever player was met with rousing applause and a guard of honour from teammates both past and present.
Jamie Vardy’s top three moments in a Leicester shirt
- Eleventh Heaven – Leicester City 1 – 1 Manchester United – 28th November 2015
A moment that will go down in Premier League history. Tied with Ruud Van Nistelrooy having scored in 10 consecutive games, Vardy had to put one past Manchester United’s David De Gea to put himself out in front as the record holder.
In the 24th minute, he did just that. Latching onto a pinpoint through ball, there was only ever one outcome. Vardy found the bottom left corner, leading Martin Tyler to exclaim, ‘It’s eleven, it’s heaven for Jamie Vardy!’, one of the most iconic pieces of Premier League commentary and fit for the moment.
- That Liverpool goal – 2nd February 2016
As people began to take Leicester seriously as title contenders, they came up against an unpredictable Liverpool side in February if 2016. A win would see the Foxes go three points clear at the Premier League’s summit.
Talisman Vardy took matters into his own hands, scoring both in a 2-0 win. The first, with an hour played, was yet another legendary moment in the catalogue of Leicester’s number nine. A searching long-ball from Riyad Mahrez dropped over his shoulder and, 25 yards from goal, Vardy unleashed a world-class effort over Simon Mignolet.
- FA Cup Glory – 15th May 2021
Five years after his first experience of silverware with Leicester, Vardy had his hands on another trophy.
A tight, tense final was played out against Chelsea, with Youri Tielemans scoring the game’s only goal from distance.
Having been in non-league football at the age of 25, having the Premier League and FA Cup trophies in his cabinet just years later would have been beyond Vardy’s wildest dreams.
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