Objectives: To add a prospective view of retirement to the existing research in career transition based on retrospective data.Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, 18 active athletes were interviewed and the data were content analysed.Results: Three different stages related to athletes' view of retirement were conceptualised: (a) initiation/training stage; (b) maturity performance stage; and (c) anticipation of retirement stage. Our data suggest that active elite athletes gradually build an image of retirement from competitive sports during his/her sporting carrer.Conclusions: Systematic prospective studies on retirement contribute to a better picture of career transitions in sports and can assist in counselling top-level athletes. In our work, we have outlined that retirement is seen as much less problematic when it is planned as a process rather than an event. In the case of Spanish elite athletes, we would recommend that retirement from sport be viewed as a relocation in sport.