Leicester City have had some quality players grace the King Power Stadium over the years but one star nearly quit before he achieved greatness.
Leicester City are not having the best 2024/25 season under Ruud van Nistleoroy but a recent win over Tottenham Hotspur has given them some hope of Premier League survival.
While the current campaign isn’t exactly going to plan, though, there is no denying the Foxes have been a very successful club over the last decade.
The Midlands outfit shocked the footballing world in 2016 when they lifted their first-ever Premier League title, just one season on from narrowly avoiding relegation.
Their fortunes have been mixed since that triumph but Leicester fans have been treated to European nights, FA Cup success and a Community Shield win.
One player who has been so instrumental in all of that is one of the club’s all-time greatest players, Jamie Vardy.
Jamie Vardy nearly quit Leicester City for Ibiza
Vardy joined Leicester in 2012 on the back of an impressive 40-game spell with Fleetwood Town that saw him score 34 goals and assist seven.
His debut campaign at the King Power was by no means impressive, scoring five and assisting four when the Midlands outfit were in the Championship.
During that difficult campaign, as per the Dail Mail, Vardy spoke in 2021 about how he considered quitting Leicester to move to Ibiza.
He said: “Moving to Ibiza felt like a good idea at the time. It felt like 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.”
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Jamie Vardy Leicester City stats
It’s a good job Vardy remained at Leicester as he has now gone on to firmly cement himself as arguably the best player in their history.
The 38-year-old has run out of time to become the Foxes’ all-time top goalscorer, a title currently held by Arthur Chandler (273).
But the Englishman has still put up some insane numbers over the years, including breaking a Premier League record for scoring in the most consecutive matches – a title once held by his now manager.
| Jamie Vardy | Leicester City stats |
| Appearances | 486 |
| Goals | 198 |
| Assists | 69 |
Vardy is still bagging goals in 2024/25 but it may well be his final season at the club given his age and the fact he’s out of contract in the summer.