All good things must come to an end.
And that's no different in football, with Jamie Vardy's remarkable spell at Leicester City drawing to a close after the Foxes confirmed on Thursday that he'd be departing at the end of the campaign.
Leicester have endured a wretched season, toiling under both Steve Cooper and Ruud van Nistelrooy with their relegation to the Championship already confirmed - having picked up just 18 points from 38 matches.
Vardy's own form has suffered as a result, with the England international managing to find the net just seven times in the Premier League this term.
Jamie Vardy is leaving Leicester City as a club legend, with the Foxes confirming his imminent departure on Thursday
GETTY/PA
With Leicester already guaranteed to be playing in the Championship, Vardy won't be around for the rebuild.
It has been confirmed today that the 38-year-old, after 13 seasons, will depart at the end of the campaign - with his final home game for the club set to be against Ipswich Town on May 18.
Vardy is leaving as a Leicester legend and a Premier League cult hero. While his wife, Rebekah, has often made the front page it's the forward who has rubberstamped his name on the back due to his sensational exploits over the years.
When you think of the veteran, chances are you think back to 2016. Theresa May became Prime Minister, Justin Bieber's 'Love Yourself' was playing everywhere and Captain America: Civil War was the film of the year.
Oh and...Leicester won the Premier League title.
There have beem many footballing fairytales over the years but nothing tops that. Potentially, nothing ever will either.
Leicester were 5000/1 outsiders at the start of the campaign but, under Claudio Ranieri, suddenly surged to glory with Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante, Kasper Schmeichel, Robert Huth and Wes Morgan particularly impressive.
Vardy suddenly became an elite marksman in front of goal, plundering 24 in the Premier League to catapult his team to the the unlikeliest of triumphs.
Such is the way football works, virtually everyone expected him to leave.
After all, there was never any likelihood of Leicester repeating the feat. Vardy, having established himself as one of the best forwards on the planet, seemed destined to go elsewhere.
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Jamie Vardy turned down Arsenal and Arsene Wenger to stay at Leicester back in 2016
PA
It was Arsenal who pushed hardest for a deal, with Arsene Wenger convinced he'd be able to entice Vardy to the Emirates Stadium.
A £22million deal seemed to have been agreed - only for the Leicester legend to end up staying, in a huge blow for the Gunners.
Wenger later said in 2021: "I offered him a lot of money at the time.
"Leicester had just won the championship at the time in 2016, and they absolutely did not want to lose him and offered him a longer contract with approximately the same money if not more.
On why he wanted Vardy, the Frenchman added: "He is always in the game.
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"He doesn't look like he mentally gets out of the game and the great strikers are like that. It means he will score at some stage. Even when he misses a chance he stays in the game.
"It is true we had more of the ball, but I think around the box, the timing of his runs and the way he finds the space make him what he is. When you see the big strikers, they are on the move in the box when others stand still in the box. He has those things.
"They read the game earlier than others, they anticipate better, they understand quicker than other people what is going on."
Had Vardy gone, he potentially could have won another Premier League title with Arsenal.
But that won't matter one jot and his loyalty, in a sport that appears to be losing that trait by the year, deserves recognition.
Jamie Vardy won the FA Cup with Leicester in 2021, with Chelsea beaten in the finalGETTYVardy may not have won another Premier League but he did inspire Leicester to FA Cup glory in 2021.
That trophy meant the world to the forward, who had long dreamed of lifting the prestigious prize ever since he was a child.
Vardy leaves Leicester as a man who has accomplished everything and the stuff of Premier League folklore.
His legacy is a big one. And that will matter more to him than titles he may have won in north London had he opted to jump ship nine years ago.
