Jamie Vardy Finally Opens Up On How He Almost Quit Leicester City For Life In Ibiza

Jamie Vardy was on the verge of quitting professional football to become a party rep in Ibiza before management at Leicester City persuaded him to stay put.

The 34-year-old striker, who has scored 15 times for The Foxes this season, is one of the most prolific goalscorers in recent Premier League history.

He lifted the Golden Boot award for the first time in his career last campaign after scoring 23 goals and continues to bang them in on a regular basis.

But in his first year at Leicester, after signing from Fleetwood Town for a non-league record of £1 million, Vardy was 'going through a rough patch' and was desperate for a change of scenery.

And when I say scenery, I mean the party island of Ibiza.

Vardy had only scored five goals in his debut season in the Championship and his on-field struggles led him to believe his future lay in a job away from football.

The late-bloomer from Non-League has opened up about almost leaving football to make a new life in Ibiza.

"Moving to Ibiza felt a good idea at the time," he said via The Daily Mail. "It felt a really good idea. Thank God I didn't.

"It was one of those things. I'd never been in that environment - playing in the Championship, struggling, the performances and the goals not coming and it does make you think.

"I had a chat with Nigel Pearson at one point and I was trying to get him to loan me back to Fleetwood, just because I'd had success there. He said, "Listen, you're good enough, just knuckle down, you can play a lot higher".

"At that stage, I knew he believed in me and after that, it all clicked together. It was a learning curve. The big jump in standard took a bit of time getting used to and then the season after we got promoted."

In a recent chat with YouTube channel Under The Cosh, former Leicester winger Ben Marshall 'made some huge revelations' about Vardy, including his plans to find a job in Ibiza.

"I remember when he was saying he's going to jack it in and go away. He had a job offer to go over to Ibiza and be a rep. He was all over that." Marshall recalls. "He'll tell you that himself."

The 29-year-old, who now plays in the 12th tier of English football for West Lancashire First Division side Stoneclough FC, went on to speak about Vardy's dress sense and the size of 'his length'.

In terms of Vardy's plans to ditch his life as a professional footballer to become a party rep, former Leicester coaches Craig Shakespeare and Steve Walsh, along with manager Nigel Pearson, managed to persuade the striker to stay.

Shakespeare opened up about Vardy's on-the-field struggles in 2017.

"Our job is to support players. Sometimes they do have self-doubt and Jamie would be the first to admit he was going through a rough patch." he said.

"Myself, Nigel [Pearson] and Steve [Walsh] were here to support him. All we did was told him about his attributes and that we thought he could go on.

"We even mentioned then about not only playing in the Premier League but also he had the attributes to play for the national team. We told him we wanted him and believed in him.

"Thankfully he didn't go to Ibiza. I think he has made the right decision!"

Vardy's route into professional football has been anything but normal, and so too is the Leicester City striker's matchday diet.

In an in-depth interview with Sky Sports as part of their 'Making it Pro' feature, the former England man revealed he still opts for a caffeine fix prior to games.

"I wake up in the morning and then [have a] Red Bull. Literally, I get out of bed, get the kids up and downstairs, get their breakfast sorted and then I'm straight into the Red Bull," he said:

"After that, we meet at the stadium for pre-match and while I'm getting changed I'll have a coffee - it's better than taking ProPlus. Red Bull, coffee and then when we get over to the pre-match lounge, I'll have my cheese and ham omelette with another can of Red Bull."

Asked how his stomach is able to process and deal with the caffeine coming his way, Vardy replied: "I think when you've done it for so many years I think it just gets used to it, it's not an issue whatsoever. It's one of them things, it's not going to work for everyone."

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Topics: jamie vardy, Leicester City, Football, Premier League, Ibiza

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_