Jamie Vardy is set to close the chapter on Leicester City after 13 fairy long tale years since his signing for a reported fee of £1 million, a non-League record, from Fleetwood Town.

Fantastic Mr Fox didn’t just live the Leicester City dream but also helped write it. From non-league grounds to Premier League glory, his journey was as improbable as it was unforgettable.

The English striker came from the humblest of humble beginnings, made his name heard and his impact felt at a club with no elite status, leading them to unimaginable heights.

When he arrived from Fleetwood Town in 2012, few believed he would last. Even fewer imagined he would go on to define an era. But Vardy didn’t care for scripts. He tore them up, goal by goal, season by season, until Leicester’s name was carved into English football folklore, with his fingerprints all over it.

Journey all the way, from battling relegation to winning the Premier League title against all odds, starring in the UEFA Champions League, finishing top of their group, reaching the quarter-finals by going toe to toe with Atlético Madrid, not in their weirdest dreams would any Foxes' fan have picture the club in the places Vardy took them. Yet it was made possible by the one they had written off.

Although not a one-club man, the former Fleetwood Town striker will forever be remembered for his time at Leicester City, where the world came to know the name Jamie Vardy, and became interested in his story.

From playing at non-league clubs in his mid-20s to becoming a Premier League champion and an England international, the striker has crafted a fairytale career, one that mirrors Leicester City's own remarkable journey to the league title.

Late bloomers don’t come any better—or do they? Jamie Vardy had no right to be that good, or to last this long. But he was different. The fantastic Mr. Fox wrote his own story, and made the world gave its deserved hype.

A lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan, Jamie Vardy began his footballing journey in 2006 with non league side Stocksbridge Park Steels, where he spent four formative seasons.

During that period, his involvement was restricted by a court-imposed curfew, the result of an assault conviction stemming from an altercation outside a pub while he was working as a medical splint technician. For six months, he played with an electronic tag fitted to his ankle.

He then made successive one-year stops at Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town, making a name for himself with 26 and 31 goals respectively and turning professional in the process.

His prolific form at both clubs caught the attention of Championship outfit Leicester City, who secured his signature for a record £1 million in 2012.

When Leicester signed him, it seemed like just another low-key deal for a cash-strapped club, a striker with a rag-tag CV of stocks, screws, and Sunday League football. Not even Foxes' fans were convinced.

But 13 years on, he'll leave the Midlands having shattered every expectation and redefined the limits of plausibility.

He turned the King Power to the temple of kings as Leicester City were crowned champions in the two most prestigious domestic competitions in England, while taking the most prestigious individual prizes for himself.

The Fantastic Mr Fox: Jamie Vardy Story at Leicester City 

Jamie Vardy earned his name as Fantastic Mr Fox. His first year at the King Power was tough as he struggled for form, leading fans to criticize his signing by starting the obvious. Who in the world expects the world from a non league Marchant?

Vardy even had to be convinced to continue as he considered quiting football due to the negative comments about him, which he was able to turn around in his second season at the club.

The striker scored 16 goals in 37 league games, 11 more than he had in the previous season and four behind club's top scorer David Nugent, who played nine more games. His contribution helped Leicester City seal qualification back to the topflight since their relegation at the end of the 2001-02 campaign.

It was from there he started to win the hearts of the fans who doubted him, eventually voting him as winner of the Fans' Player of the year award at the end of the season awards night.

He was rewarded with a contract extension as Leicester City prepared for their first season back in the topflight, which they ended in 14th place after avoiding relegation thanks to an impressive run of performance in the run-in.

In their second season in the topflight, Jamie Vardy led a fairytale run to the Premier League title under the watch of Claudio Ranieri, one of the biggest underdog story in football history.

The striker was named Premier League Player of the Season, with his 24 goals placing him second only to Harry Kane in the Golden Boot race.

His goals and assists directly secured 32 points for Leicester, the most by a single player since that time till date, and he etched his name into the record books by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League matches—surpassing the long standing mark of 10 set by Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2003.

His rise at Leicester City earned him international recognition, and Vardy, in 2015, at the age of 28 years, four months and 28 days, made his debut for the Three Lions, becoming one of the oldest debutants for the country in the 21st century.

He had his moments before calling time on it in 2018. Seven goals in 26 caps seem modest until one recalls their timing. Two major tournaments and a role fashioned almost in haste to weaponise counter attacks against dominant teams.

Vardy’s only major tournament goal came in a 2-1 win over Wales during the second group game of Euro 2016. He also found the net in international friendlies against Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, underscoring his ability to deliver in big fixtures.

In a show of loyalty to Leicester, he famously turned down a summer move to Arsenal in 2016 for a host of reasons. In a decision that surprised many, he chose to stay at Leicester and signed a four-year contract extension, defying expectations that he would seize the chance for a lucrative move.

The following season, Vardy netted his first professional hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Manchester City, and was also among the goals against Spanish giants, Sevilla and Atlético Madrid during Leicester’s historic debut campaign in the UEFA Champions League as they reached the quarter-finals.

Vardy remained Leicester City's talisman in the years that followed. By the end of the 2019–20 season, he finally won the Premier League golden boot, scoring 23 goals, one ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Danny Ings, becoming the oldest winner of the award at 33.

He also became the first player in the club’s history to score 100 Premier League goals, and only the 29th in the league’s history to reach that milestone, after scoring the first of his goals in a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in June.

At the end of the following season, Leicester City won the Emirates FA Cup, beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final thanks to a Youri Tielemans' second half strike.

It was the club's first-ever FA Cup trophy and Vardy also set a new record as the first player to feature in every round of the competition, including the preliminary stages.

They also went on to lift the the FA Community Shield at the start of the following season, beating Premier League champions, Manchester City in Wembley.

He stayed at the club after their relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season, helping them secure promotion back to the topflight at the first time of asking by winning the Championship, again, in 2023-24.

Now 37 and closing in on 500 (496) appearances for the club with 198 goals scored, both club record in the 2qst century, taking these to 500 and 200 respectively will be the target before the season reaches its climax, with the Foxes having five more games left.

Some Impressive Statistics of Jamie Vardy 

Jamie Vardy holds the record for most appearances, 496, most goals, 198 and assists 69, in the history of Leicester City since the start of the 21st century.

Vardy has scored 109 goals in the Premier League since turning 30 years old, making him the player with the most goals in the competition after his 30th birthday.

Jamie Vardy at 33y and 292d became Leicester City's oldest ever scorer in major European competition, when he opened the scoring from the spot in a 2-1 win at AEK Athens in the Europa League in October 2020.

Jamie Vardy (24) is one of the two players to have won 20+ penalties in Premier League history, with the other being Raheem Sterling, who holds the record for most with 26.

Jamie Vardy is the second-oldest player to score and assist in a Premier League match (37y 332d v Brighton), only behind Ryan Giggs in December 2011 (38y 22d v Fulham).

Including caretakers, Jamie Vardy has scored in his first Premier League game under seven different managers (Ranieri, Shakespeare, Puel, Stowell, Rodgers, Cooper, van Nistelrooy); no player has ever scored in their first appearance under more managers in the competition, level with Darren Bent.

Aged 35 years and 124 days, Jamie Vardy became the second oldest player in Premier League history to score a brace in back-to-back appearances in the competition, behind only Youri Djorkaeff for Bolton in May 2004 (36y 60d).

Jamie Vardy Says Goodbye 

As Vardy closes this remarkable chapter with Leicester City, his legacy, forever etched in the club’s history. The one who arrived as a non league striker, became more than just a player but an embodiment of the spirit of Leicester itself.

“I feel gutted this day is coming, but I knew it would come eventually. I have had 13 unbelievable years at this club, with lots of success, and some downs, but the majority all highs. Leicester will always have a place in my heart”. Said the 38-year-old.

His relentlessness, aura, the goals, the records, iconic celebration like the Vardy Party and the infamous one where he slid into and destroyed a corner flag, the title-winning season; all was the product of a man who never stopped believing in himself, no matter the odds.

Vardy’s story, one of the most extraordinary in football, will be remembered not just for his talent, but for his heart and his unyielding commitment and achievements with the Foxes.

His time at Leicester may be drawing to a close, but his influence on the streets of the East Midlands will linger longer. He gave everything to the club, and in return, Leicester became a part of his identity, just as he became a part of theirs.

As the King Power Stadium bids farewell to one of its greatest heroes, Jamie Vardy’s legacy will continue to inspire future generations of players, proving that with hard work and unwavering belief, anything is possible.

The Foxes will forever be in his debt, and the name Jamie Vardy will remain synonymous with Leicester’s most glorious days.