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Nieuws
- 8 Dec 2025
Former Chelsea star likely to retire after heart issue emerges
Martin Macdonald
- 13 Dec 2025 05:45 CST
- 5 min read
Nieuws
Former Chelsea star Oscar will likely retire from football after the discovery of a heart issue.
In November, the current São Paulo star was rushed to hospital after collapsing during a cycling exercise during training.
A few days later, he was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope. A description of the condition from the Mayo Clinic reads:
"Vasovagal syncope occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers. These may include the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. Vasovagal syncope also is called neurocardiogenic syncope.
"The vasovagal syncope trigger causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly. That leads to reduced blood flow to your brain, causing you to briefly lose consciousness.
"Vasovagal syncope is usually harmless and requires no treatment. But it's possible that you may injure yourself during a vasovagal syncope episode. Your healthcare professional may recommend tests to rule out more-serious causes of fainting, such as heart conditions."
It is one of the most common causes of fainting.
Will Oscar retire from football?
The 34-year-old midfielder has enjoyed a fine career and won two Premier League titles with Chelsea as well as the Europa League and a League Cup.
He hit headlines in December of 2016 when he became one of the highest profile players to move to the newly-rich Chinese Super League as he signed for Shanghai Port for a fee of £60 million.
In 2024 he returned to his first club, São Paulo.
When the incident initially happened, many assumed that Oscar would retire due to this heart issue. Even though the diagnosis isn't life threatening, the Brazilian is reportedly considering hanging up his boots.
O Globo newspaper reports that he has expressed a desire to retire.
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