Believe it or not, 2019 is slowly drawing to a close.
Time flies when you're having fun and there have been plenty of memorable moments in the world of football, but there have also been some tough goodbyes.
With every year in the sport, it's inevitable that a number of legendary players will hang up their boots and it feels as though 2019 has been particularly ruthless.
You've got to stand back and applaud these star men as they retire, but it's always difficult to swallow when you've watched them produce brilliance for a decade or more.
And bearing that in mind, we have decided to draw up a starting XI from players who retired in 2019 and it's so incredible that players like Dimitar Berbatov and Bastian Schweinsteiger miss out.
GK - Petr Cech
One of the greatest Premier League goalkeepers in history, there's no better candidate between the sticks assuming Cech can get some time off from his new ice-hockey side, Guildford Phoenix.
DF - Patrice Evra
Sure, Evra has been moved to the other side of the backline, but the former Manchester United man would still do a brilliant job down the right side.
DF - Andrea Barzagli
Barzagli is the absolute personification of reliability and was still competing with the world's best defenders when he called it a day at Juventus this year.
DF - Ashley Cole
This must have been the easiest choice in the entire team because, although Cole tapered off during the last half-decade of his career, the Englishman was the world's best left-back in his prime.
RM - Arjen Robben
One of the greatest left foots in the sport's history. We're inclined to think the winger could still do a job at some of Europe's biggest clubs and he was never far away from a moment of magic.
LM - Robin van Persie
The Flying Dutchman scored 323 career goals, winning one EPL title, one FA Cup, one UEFA Cup as well as 2 EPL Golden Boots. he is also Netherland's all-time top goalscorer with 50 goals.
He played as a striker in most of his career but he also played as a winger when he was young.
MF - Xavi
Speaking of World Cup winners, it would be a footballing scandal to omit Xavi from this collection of decorated retirees and it feels scandalous that the Spaniard never won the Ballon d'Or.
MF - Wesley Sneijder
And speaking of potential Ballon d'Or winners, you could argue that Sneijder is worthy of his place based on that memorable 2010 alone where he inspired Inter Milan to the treble.
FW - Samuel Eto'o
An absolutely lethal goal-scorer whether he was wearing the jerseys of Cameroon, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea or Inter Milan. We'll forget about the Everton spell.
FW - Fernando Torres
El Nino might not have been at the top of his game for long, but the World Cup winner was once the sport's best striker and hoovered up a number of Golden Boots with Spain.
FW - David Villa
Across his club career, Villa claimed three La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and won the Champions League in 2011 with Barcelona. Internationally, the Spaniard represented his country 98 times winning Euro 2008 before also lifting the World Cup two years later.
Full XI:
