Teemu Pukki to retire after HJK season finale on 8 November

Teemu Pukki has announced that he will retire from professional football at the end of the Finnish season, bringing his playing career to a close at 36. According to BBC Sport, the former Norwich City striker will finish with HJK Helsinki when the Veikkausliiga campaign concludes on 8 November.

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The Finnish league also confirmed the decision on its official website, identifying the final round of the championship series as the endpoint for his career. Pukki has been back at HJK since 2025. His club retirement follows his departure from international football in November 2025, rather than marking an immediate end to his remaining matches this season.

Pukki leaves a national-team record of 43 goals in 133 appearances for Finland. The goal total is a men's national record, while BBC Sport reports that his appearance tally ranks second in the country's history. The Veikkausliiga announcement also highlighted his role in 2019, when Finland secured their first place at a major men's international tournament.

At Norwich, Pukki scored 88 times in 210 appearances between 2018 and 2023, placing him fourth on the club's all-time goalscoring list. His five years at Carrow Road included promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and 2021 under Daniel Farke. Both promotions came through Championship title-winning campaigns, making his English spell a major part of the career now approaching its conclusion.

His achievements extended beyond those promotions. The Finnish league noted that he scored 11 goals in each of his two Premier League seasons and was named the division's player of the month for August 2019. His honours also include the Championship player-of-the-season award. Elsewhere, his club career took him to Sevilla, Schalke, Celtic, Brondby and Minnesota United, as well as his spells in Finland.

In the Instagram message reported by BBC Sport, Pukki thanked his clubs and their supporters and reflected on the experiences football had given him. He acknowledged that he had not enjoyed every period of his career, but said his love for the sport had remained. His final chapter will now be played out with HJK in his homeland.