Aaron Ramsey played his best football for Wales and Arsenal, but also represented clubs such as Juventus and Rangers.

Aaron Ramsey was destined for greatness. "I remember him at the age of 15, coming into Cardiff training, a spotty kid with some crazy haircuts," says Joe Ledley, a team-mate with Cardiff City and Wales. "I remember the first training session; he wasn't scared of anything, a hungry young kid who always wanted the ball. You just knew he was special and going to go on to great things."

Ledley was right. Ramsey only needed 22 games at Cardiff to convince Arsene Wenger to sign him for Arsenal, the Frenchman beating his old rival Sir Alex Ferguson to secure the 17-year-old's signature in 2008. Few have been better judges of a player's potential than Wenger and Ferguson, who both knew this precocious playmaker was heading for the top.

Yet Ramsey's rise was not straightforward. He had to overcome profound challenges, from a career-threatening injury to the death of his mentor and former Wales manager, Gary Speed, all before he had turned 21. Wales captain and ex-Arsenal star Ramsey retires.

Ramsey did more than salvage his career. He flourished at the highest level with Arsenal for more than a decade – and made himself a Wales legend. "He's the best Welsh midfielder ever," says Chris Coleman, manager when Wales reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, with Ramsey included in Uefa's team of the tournament. "He's one of the bravest players I've worked with. The toughest players are the ones built with tough mentalities that always want the ball, even when it's going wrong. If we were losing or he personally was having a bad time, where some would duck it, hide, Rambo was super brave. He'd take the ball anywhere on the pitch. His talent is obvious, a fantastic talent, but he's brave as well."

It is a measure of Ramsey's character that he could recover from such shattering setbacks to scale such soaring heights. And yet, the end of his career – with some cruel synchronicity – became a long, often painful, goodbye. Ramsey's story is one of youthful innocence shaped by harsh experience; beauty forged in pain.

Aaron Ramsey had two spells as Wales' permanent captain, but was often absent through injury. Ramsey is undoubtedly a Welsh great. It can seem curious, therefore, that there remains a lingering sense of what might have been. When he first emerged, there was arguably more excitement about Ramsey than there was about Gareth Bale; the creative midfielder joining Arsenal while his fellow Welsh teenager struggled to get a game at left-back for Spurs.

Ultimately, their peak years aligned perfectly with their country's finest era. Bale blossomed into an otherworldly talent who went on to achieve feats beyond any of his countrymen, the personification of Wales' golden generation. In Wales at least, Ramsey was often mentioned in the same breath.

"I think Bale's the best player we've ever produced," Coleman explains. "And Rambo's the best midfielder we've ever produced."

Ramsey made himself an Arsenal hero by scoring winning goals in two FA Cup finals, while there were several moments of genius – the staggering volley at Fenerbahce or the divine team goal at Fulham – which lit up his 11 years in north London. But it was with Wales that he ascended to another plane. To think back to the golden summer of Euro 2016 is to conjure images of Ramsey's peroxide blonde hair, his goal against Russia and his artful conducting of play which earned him a place in the team of the tournament.

"He was huge. We were blessed to have Rambo and Bale together," says Ledley. "Gaz would take a lot of the plaudits and Aaron went under the radar at times. We could see how good an influence he was on the players, and not just on the pitch. He picked his moments, a big-time player. When you needed it, he was always there."

Euro 2016 was Wales' first major tournament since 1958. Ramsey played at three. He provided some of Wales' highlights at the following European Championships but, like Bale, Ramsey was starting to fade once the team reached the 2022 World Cup. Still only 31 at the time, injuries were taking their toll. Not only the horrific leg break of 2010, but the persistent muscular issues which hindered him afterwards.

Aaron Ramsey was Cardiff City's caretaker boss for the final three games of the 2024-25 season. Despite taking the Wales captaincy for a second time when Bale retired in 2023, Ramsey's influence was waning. And although he was still notionally the skipper when he announced his retirement, Ramsey had not played for his country since 2024. Wales had been preparing for life without him for some time.

It was a shame that such an illustrious career was allowed to peter out as it did, first with relegation from the Championship with his boyhood club Cardiff, and then a short-lived and unhappy stint in the relative obscurity of Mexico. His reason for persevering was noble. He wanted to summon one last effort for his country, to play at this summer's World Cup. Even if Wales had qualified, the fact he had not played any football for seven months made that an unrealistic aim.

Once Wales had missed out after losing their play-off semi-final in March, the dream was gone. Deep down, Ramsey already knew the end was in sight – and had done for a while. For months, friends had noted how enthusiastically he had been speaking about coaching, but no longer training with the intensity of somebody who thought they still had a playing future. Ramsey seemed to be spending more time playing golf, advertising his vodka brand and training for the London Marathon.

There were telling signs. When he announced his retirement on Tuesday morning, however, those final few months were already starting to fade away as Wales and the rest of the footballing world paid tribute. The abiding memory of Ramsey will not be the frustrating final chapter of his career but the body of work that came before it. "I'd like to thank him for everything achieved. He was incredible," says Ledley. "At Euro 2016, I thought he was our best player, scoring goals, creating chances, working hard. Not just that, he's a very level-headed person. Never got too big for his boots. "He'll go down as a Welsh legend."