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.

Tottenham cult hero Roman Pavlyuchenko recently announced his retirementBut many Spurs fans thought he’d already retiredBut 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.”;

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.

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