The King of Leicester City calls it a career.

For Andy King, it’s a career. No one else will ever be like him.

On May 3rd of this year, Andy King declared his retirement from professional football.

For some of us, Kingy is one of the best players to have worn the shirt, which may surprise some of you who joined around the time the Foxes won the Premier League. Possibly the best. You watched a player who was on the periphery for the first time if you only saw him play a minor yet significant role in the 2015–16 squad. You could question why Andy King is so highly regarded by so many of us if he appeared uncomfortable or a step sluggish.

I’ll attempt to clarify. Since I’m mostly relying on recollection, please accept my corrections if I miss a few details.

His story begins during one of the lowest points in the club’s history, the 2007–08 season. The 1st Division became the new home for the Foxes. At the age of 18, Kingy was just starting to make an impression on the first team, with 11 appearances and 5 starts. He was regarded as our best potential at the moment. It turned out to be correct.

In League One, Andy really started to shine. In 45 games, he started, tallying 5 assists and 9 goals. Additionally, he led the team with over 4,000 league games played, demonstrating the new manager Nigel Pearson’s high regard for the adolescent. With players like Matty Fryatt scoring 27 goals and Steve Howard adding 13 and 14, Leicester dominated the division.

Kingy was nearly always the man of the match, even though he didn’t score as frequently as his teammates. That season, I didn’t get to see Leicester play very often, but I still remember enjoying the radio shows hosted by Ian Stringer and Alan Smith. Ian knew exactly who the renowned striker would pick for Man of the Match when each game came to a close. Smith would waver and discuss Fryatt, Howard, Lloyd Dyer, Matt Oakley, and so on, but he would eventually say, “But you know, for me it has to be Andy King.”

Why did the gaffer and the commentary team love him so much? Workrate. King was a box-to-box midfielder who never, ever abandoned his defensive duties. He could be counted on to make goal-saving, even game-saving tackles and then pop up in the opposition box to score. He did whatever was asked, lining up in central midfield, as a #10, a defensive midfielder, or even (very occasionally) in defence.

Was he prepared to move up to the Championship? Was he ever! His first year in the second tier, Kingy played behind the legendary strike force of Fryatt and Martyn Waghorn. He chipped in with 9 goals, equalling his previous tally, The following season was even better as he led the team with 15 goals and added 5 assists. King spent 5 seasons in the Championship with the Foxes, scoring 39 goals over that span.

He was part of the squad that tallied 102 points in the Championship in 2013/14, lifting his second trophy with the club. He only started 24 matches this season, as newcomers Matty James and Danny Drinkwater were getting the majority of the starts. If he complained about his reduced role, there’s no record of it. He continued to put in a shift every time he was called upon.

Now in the Premier League, King would see his time slip yet again. The Foxes added Argentine legend Esteban Cambiasso to fortify their squad to ensure Premier League survival. For most of the year, It looked as though it was all in vain. Going into April, City were bottom of the table on just 18 points and 8 points from safety with only 10 matches to play. Leicester hadn’t won a match since early January. Things looked grim.

You may have heard of “The Great Escape.” Here’s how it started. Played West Ham at the King Power, Cambiasso gave the Foxes an early lead only to see Kouyate level for the Hammers. With five minutes of regular time to play, City won a free kick deep in the visitor’s half. James took it, but it was cleared to the other side of the pitch. Cambiasso chased it down and found Marc Albrighton, who did a very Marc Albrighton thing by racing past his man and whipping in a cross. It found Andrej Kramaric past the far post. He pulled it back for Jamie Vardy, who hit it first time. It might have been going into the corner, or it might have been going wide. We’ll never know, because it instead found the foot of one Andy King, who directed it off the keeper and into the back of the net.

“Cometh the hour, cometh the man.”

It was, in my opinion, the defining goal of his career. He hit plenty of screamers from the edge of the area, curled some lovely volleys into the corner, but he never scored a goal more important than this one. This goal gave Leicester their first win in three months and started an improbable run of 8 wins and 1 draw in 10 matches. Not only would Leicester survive, they finished a respectable 14th.

As you might be aware, the next season went well for Leicester City. Kingy played a little over 1,000 minutes in the league, making 25 appearances and starting 9 matches. Even as a squad player, he provided some wonderful moments including the goal against West Bromwich Albion. Sure, you might give most of the credit to Riyad Mahrez, but there’s no shame in that. It was a hell of a finish regardless.

The best experience I’ve ever had as a Leicester City supporter was on May 7, 2016. I was at The Haymaker in Austin, Texas, USA, standing arm in arm with a group of Chelsea fans. The Chelsea fans were relieved that we prevailed, partly because it meant further aggravation for Tottenham Hotspur and partly because we had exchanged numerous anecdotes and numerous pints. The moment Morgan raised the cup was fantastic. Seeing Ranieri cry was a magnificent sight. But as for me? The Premier League championship trophy being raised by Andy King was the most significant event. Yes, I did cry. Naturally, I did.

On that day, Andy King became the first man to win the top three tiers of football with the same club. If you want an emblem of Leicester’s improbable rise, that’s it right there. The man wearing the Topps Tiles sponsored kit at Leyton Orient, Yeovil Town, and Cheltenham lifting the most cherished trophy the English game has to offer. If you don’t love Andy King, you don’t love football and certainly don’t love Leicester City.

The following season, his playing time increased a little and he got to participate in yet another competition. Did you know that, if you win your domestic league, you get to play in the Champions League? It’s true! The midfielder who’d represented us in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy made 4 appearances in UEFA’s most prestigious competition, starting two matches.

He remained a Leicester player through the 2019/20 season, although he had long loan spells each year, plying his trade at Swansea City, Derby County, Rangers, and Huddersfield Two. In 2021, he rejoined Nigel Pearson at Bristol City and spent three years with the Robins.

Andy King was Leicester City’s all-time leading scorer among midfielders and he continues to hold the record for international appearances for outfield players. More importantly, he twice won the player’s Player of the Year award despite not always putting up crazy numbers. As far as I am aware, and I am certainly not particularly close to the situation, everyone liked Andy King. The players, the managers, the owners, and all of us supporters.

If you only saw him near the tail end of his time with the Foxes, you may not understand why he was so important to us because you only saw him as a squad player. He was more than that. He carried the club for several years, demonstrating why central midfield is known as “the engine room.” As we moved up the ladder, he transitioned into a smaller role with the sort of grace I find inspiring.

At the risk of getting overly sentimental (That ship sailed several paragraphs ago, Jake – Ed.), Andy King was everything I love about Leicester City. We’ve known for some time that he probably wasn’t going to play much longer, but you still feel it when a guy like Kingy calls it day. I just hope he’s remembered as he deserves to be: Among the greatest to ever wear the badge.