TOTTENHAM fans were full of praise for Roman Pavlyuchenko after learning of his retirement – but several of them thought he’d already hung up his boots.
The 40-year-old striker announced his retirement on Thursday, bringing the curtain down on a 24-year-long career.
But the news came as a surprise to several Spurs supporters, some of whom thought he’d already called it a day.
One tweeted: “Blimey! Has he been stuck at Hotspur Way this whole time?!”
Another said: “He was still playing?”
And another said: “Thought he retired 10 years ago.”
One remarked: “Didn’t he retire years ago?”
Fans of the north London club did, however, look back fondly on Pavlyuchenko’s time at White Hart Lane.
One said: “Super Pav.”
Another said: “Happy retirement Super Pav.”
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And another said: “Supercalafragalistic Roman Pavlyuchenko!”
Pavlyuchenko himself has great memories of his time in the Premier League, saying: “I enjoyed every single moment during my three-and-a-half years.
“My whole stay at Tottenham Hotspur was just full of pleasure for me.”
Pavlyuchenko joined Spurs in September 2008 from Russian outfit Spartak Moscow for a fee of £13.7million.
He scored 42 goals in 113 appearances for the north Londoners before returning to the Russian Premier League with Lokomotiv Moscow.
