Champions League star dramatically retires from football hours after Man City bashing

A former Manchester City and Rangers player has quit football following Slovan Bratislava's heavy Champions League defeat to Pep Guardiola's side

A Slovan Bratislava player has retired from football in the wake of his side’s thrashing by his former club Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s side eased to their first victory of this season’s Champions League as they brushed the Slovakians aside 4-0 on Tuesday. Early goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden put City in command before Erling Haaland’s 42nd goal in 41 appearances in the competition and another from substitute James McAtee added the gloss.

City also hit the woodwork three times in a dominant performance that added impetus to their campaign after their draw with Inter Milan. They did it without hitting top gear and with a side showing six changes from Saturday’s draw at Newcastle.

It was Slovan’s second successive heavy defeat in the competition following their opening-week 5-1 reverse at Celtic. And it was seemingly too much to take for veteran Vladimir Weiss, 34, whose 63 minutes on the pitch look set to be his last in professional football.

His father, Slovan’s manager, also called Vladimir, said: “Vladimir will make his own announcement in the next few days. But yes, I believe that was his last game.

“I'm his father and manager and it's hard for me. Everything begins and ends at some point. It will also happen to me too.” The winger came through City's academy and scored one goal for them in five appearances before his exit.

It isn’t the first dramatic retirement of Weiss Jnr’s career as he quit international football in 2018 after being outraged at being an unused substitute in a game. When a fellow sub was sent on instead, Weiss stormed back to the Slovakia dressing room in a huff.

HAVE YOUR SAY! What do you think of Weiss retiring? Tell us in the comments section.

He reversed his decision in 2022 and has 77 caps for his country. The winger’s senior club career actually began at Man City, where he made a few first-team appearances, including scoring in a League Cup victory over Arsenal.

He had loan spells at Bolton, Rangers, where won the SPL title in 2010/11, and Espanyol before leaving City for good in 2012. Following stints in Italy, Greece and Qatar, he joined his hometown club Slovan in 2020.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

UEFA Champions League

Watch Man City's Champions League games free
£0 (was £8.99)

Prime Video is broadcasting one Champions League game every game week free for Amazon Prime members. Man City's upcoming fixtures include Feyenoord on November 26, which is free for Prime members or those signing up for a 30-day free trial.

Every Champions League and Europa League game is also available on TNT Sports via Prime Video’s Discovery+ channel.

Amazon
Get Amazon Prime here