Tottenham legend Ledley King hailed former teammate Jermain Defoe as “without doubt one of the best finishers this country has ever produced”.
Defoe announced his retirement from the game on Thursday after a brief second spell with Sunderland in League One.
King and Defoe played together across the striker’s two spells with Spurs as well as at international level with England with Defoe scoring 304 goals in 762 club games throughout his career.
Of those strikes, 143 were scored for Spurs and current striker Harry Kane hailed the 39-year-old as a “top striker, top bloke and someone who gave me some great advice in my early career”.
Part of the Premier League’s famous “100 club”, Defoe sits 9th on the all-time list of highest scorers in England’s elite division with 162.
Only Kane, Robbie Fowler, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Sergio Aguero, Andy Cole, Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer rank higher.
In a storied career to have taken him across the pond, the former Charlton academy graduate also played for West Ham, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Toronto FC, Rangers and Bournemouth.
Taking to Twitter after the news of his retirement surfaced, King wrote: “Congratulations on a wonderful career bro, I’m proud of everything you have achieved in the game. Without doubt one of the best finishers this country has produced.
“Enjoy the next chapter in your life.”
