Vardy rules out Leicester return and confirms he will keep playing into 2026-27

Jamie Vardy has ruled out a return to Leicester City this summer and confirmed he intends to continue playing into the 2026-27 season, speaking on the debut episode of his new podcast, Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party.

The 38-year-old striker left Leicester in 2025 after 13 years at the King Power Stadium — a spell that yielded 200 goals in 500 appearances, a Premier League title, and an FA Cup — before joining Serie A side Cremonese. Despite contributing seven goals and three assists in 29 matches, he could not prevent the club from being relegated to Serie B, and his contract is not expected to be renewed, leaving him as a free agent this summer.

Speculation had mounted that Vardy might engineer a homecoming at Leicester, who were themselves relegated to League One in April following a dismal Championship campaign in which they won just 12 of 46 matches and finished 23rd, five points from safety. When presenter and Leicester fan Manish Bhasin asked whether he would consider such a move, Vardy was unequivocal: “Nah, that’s gone. I’ll always support them and follow them, that’s the best thing I can do now.”

There had also been suggestions that Vardy, now 38, might use the end of his Cremonese contract as a natural exit point from professional football. He dismissed that idea too. “No, I’m not going to give up playing just yet, but it’s something more for later down the line,” he said.

Vardy also addressed Leicester’s third relegation in four years, having watched their Championship season unfold from Italy. “I was obviously devoed with how the season finished,” he told talkSPORT. “I’ve been watching as many games as I can while I’ve been in Italy. Gutted for them, but I know deep down, as a Leicester fan now myself, that they can bounce back.”