Per Mertesacker bids emotional farewell to football

BeSoccer 5 years ago 2.5k |

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Mertesacker was left in tears after being replaced by his 67-year-old father. Twitter/Hannover96

The Arsenal legend was left in tears during his emotional testimonial in Germany. Mertesacker struggled to hold back his emotions after his 67-year-old father replaced him on the field on Saturday afternoon.

40,000 fans gathered in Hannover's HDI Arena in order to bid farewell to a German football great.

The 'Big Friendly German' called time on his career in May before putting together a farewell match which pitted Mertesacker's 'Hannover 96 friends' against a World XI managed by Arsene Wenger.

It was a thriller for the neutral, with the game remarkably ending 9-10 to Per Mertesacker's XI.

The 2010 World Cup winner even managed to get on the score sheet, a rarity considering that the 34-year-old only managed 34 career goals.

Mertesacker thanked those who showed up to his testimonial on Twitter.

"Thank you for the great sendoff....it was my honour !!!!", he said in German.