Former Sunderland forward Jermain Defoe has opened up on his shock decision to retire less than two months after agreeing to a second spell at the Stadium of Light. The 39-year-old made a fairytale return to the club in January, penning a deal over four years after his first, goal-laden stint came to an end.
However, the dream scenario involving Defoe firing the Black Cats to promotion did not come to fruition and less than two months after his contract was signed, he retired from playing completely. Speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports' Renault Super Sunday, he said: "I spoke to someone the other day and I said if it's a series on Netflix then it'd be great! I come back and we get into the play-offs and then get promoted.
"But it's football and you just never know what is going to happen. When you get to the back end of your career and you're in and out of the team and not really playing then I think it becomes harder. Because what happens is if you don't play on the Saturday then the Sunday you might be training. I feel like when you're not playing, you're training harder to get yourself up to speed.
