'Lost love for the game': PSV midfielder Davy Propper retires from football at 30

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Dutch midfielder Davy Propper has ended his professional football career at the age of 30, saying he has “lost the love for the game.”

Propper’s club PSV Eindhoven said on Tuesday that his contract, which still had 18 months left, “has been terminated by mutual agreement.”

The midfielder’s first decade in football was spent at Dutch clubs Vitesse and PSV, before he moved to English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion in 2017.

Propper, who has 19 caps for the Netherlands, left the Seagulls last summer to rejoin PSV after four years.

“When I was abroad, I gradually lost the love for the game. It was difficult for me to observe the discipline needed to perform at my best and have my life ruled by a hectic football schedule. And the coronavirus crisis and the lack of visits from relatives and friends haven’t done me any good, either,” he said in a statement.

The Dutch international said he returned to PSV hoping “to rediscover the joy in playing football.”

“But it was not to be, as I don’t feel comfortable in the world of football. I don’t want to be part of it any longer,” he added.

Propper made 388 club appearances during his career, scoring 46 goals and assisting 48 more.

He won the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV in 2016 and three Dutch Super Cups.​​​​​​​