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Described as Leicester City's "greatest ever player", when Jamie Vardy departs at the end of the season, he will leave a legacy at a club he has served so well since his arrival 13 years ago.
From playing non-league football in 2010 to inspiring an astonishing Premier League title success just six years later, he struck 198 goals for the Foxes and seven more in his 26 England appearances.
A livewire, passion-filled, antagonistic striker, Vardy made the stunning leap from Stocksbridge Park Steels to become a Leicester legend.
Only Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah have scored more top-flight goals than Sheffield-born Vardy in the past decade.
The 38-year-old's impending departure from the King Power Stadium is a perfect example of how the club is now at a crossroads following their relegation.
Their talisman, a force of nature up front at his peak, grew with the club and was the beating heart of their story - a fairy tale encapsulated by the 2016 title triumph that defied all odds.
So what next for Vardy and Leicester?
"He is obviously the greatest ever Leicester player," former team-mate Marc Albrighton told BBC Sport.
"Everything he's achieved individually and with the team will never be forgotten by the Leicester fans and the club. It's going to be be tough for everyone because people have grown up watching him. It will take some getting used to not having him around the club."
Vardy has scored 198 times in 496 appearances for the Foxes since his £1m move from Fleetwood in 2012, showing the quality that led to appearances at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
Even before their memorable and miraculous title achievement, though, he helped Leicester to their 'Great Escape' in the 2014-15 campaign where they won seven of their last nine games to avoid relegation under Nigel Pearson.
Vardy scored goals in the Champions League and Europa League, and won the Premier League's Golden Boot in 2019-20 after scoring 23 times - the oldest to win the prize at the age of 33.
He also beat current Foxes boss Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in consecutive Premier League games when he netted in his 11th straight match against Manchester United in 2015.
Vardy was Leicester's leading light and the influential figure they turned to, and could rely on, in times of need.
After relegation in 2023, he scored 20 times in all competitions last season as they won the Championship and, amid Leicester's troubles in this campaign, he is their top scorer with eight goals.
It's no surprise he was on target when they last scored at home in the league on 8 December against Brighton. They have since failed to do so in nine successive matches at the King Power, setting an unwanted top-flight record and a major reason why they are second bottom in the table and 18 points adrift of safety.
Winger Albrighton played with Vardy for 10 years after he moved to Leicester from Aston Villa on a free transfer in 2014, and they formed a tight bond on and off the pitch.
There is a view of Vardy, especially from opposition fans, as a wind-up merchant who takes delight in responding to abuse and gestures aplenty.
A central figure in the dressing room too, players also have a pre-conceived opinion of him.
But that changes once they meet him as Albrighton, 35, revealed: "He's a very unique character, very unique. There's nobody who came into the dressing room that was anything like him. I had a great relationship with him so he's always been fantastic with me.
"The way he is with everybody in the dressing room was incredible. New signings would come in with a perception of him and they'd quickly find out the true character behind his personality.
"He is a down-to-earth person, very, very humble, just normal. People make out he is some sort of a superstar, but he's just normal.
"He likes the normal things, the simple things in life, he's a family man and is just an all-round good person, he'll do anything for you."
As the last player still left at the club, Vardy is also the remaining link to Leicester's title-winning squad and his departure will signal a new era.
The Foxes need a reset after relegation, with Van Nistelrooy's future in doubt after 17 defeats in 22 games during his five months in charge.
Vardy, and goalkeepers Daniel Iversen and Danny Ward, are the only players out of contract in the summer, meaning Leicester will need to work to move others on.
The forward's reported £140,000-a-week wages would have dropped to around £100,000-a-week in the Championship, so it will free up much-needed money.
More changes are expected off the pitch too, with fans demanding the dismissal of director of football Jon Rudkin.
But the club's future is uncertain, with the possibility of sanctions from the EFL following the club's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) breach in the three years up to the 2022-23 campaign.
Leicester escaped a points deduction after successfully arguing they were not a top-flight club at the time of the charge, but the EFL could move, once they are officially a Championship club and transfer their Premier League share to one of the promoted sides.
Leicester's financial situation could also have been a consideration on whether to extend Vardy's contract.
Vardy, who will turn 39 next January, wants to keep on playing and there will be no shortage of takers at home or abroad.
He said: "This isn't retirement. I want to keep playing and doing what I enjoy doing most, scoring goals. Hopefully there's one or two more for Leicester between now and the end of the season and many more in the future.
"I may be 38 but I've still got the desire and ambition to achieve so much more."
His wages are likely to be out of reach for any Championship club, even those with the deepest pockets, so he will need to take a significant cut.
Wrexham had already been mentioned as a possible destination before the announcement and their rise, from the National League to within two wins of a Championship place, is similar to Vardy's own personal journey.
He will surely have interest from Major League Soccer and enjoyed a strong relationship with Charlotte FC boss Dean Smith during his time in charge of the Foxes two years ago.
Smith tried to sign Vardy last summer and could well reignite that interest.
Charlotte are top of the Eastern Conference, while Vardy's former team-mate and fellow title winner Christian Fuchs is also one of Smith's assistants.
Smith said in August: "I did text him and see if he wanted to come over to America, but I knew that was going to be hard once he took Leicester back to the Premier League."
There could also be interest from Saudi Arabia, but his family will be a factor in any future destination as Vardy and wife Rebekah share five children.
But, as the Foxes icon looks to script another chapter in his career and life, football may never see a story like his and Leicester's again.
