Published on 4/30/2026
Former England national team full-back Ashley Young announced on Thursday that he will retire from football at the end of the current season, bringing the curtain down on a career that has spanned more than two decades.
Young (40 years old), who currently plays for Ipswich Town, competing in the English second division, played more than 750 matches in his club career and scored 88 goals during his spells with Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Everton.
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Young wrote in a post on the
He added, “But every dream has an end, and Saturday’s match could be the last in my professional career.”
Young began his career at Watford, where he played his first match with the first team in 2003, and played a major role in the team’s promotion to the English Premier League in 2006.
In 2007 he moved to Aston Villa, where he became one of the most effective players in the league, winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2009.
His impressive performance led to his move to Manchester United in 2011 under the leadership of coach Alex Ferguson, and his best period was at Old Trafford, after winning the English Premier League in the 2012-2013 season, the FA Cup in 2016, and the Europa League in 2017.
During the nine seasons he spent at Manchester United, he transformed from an attacking winger to a full-back, then became team captain before his departure in 2020.
Young spent one season in Italy with Inter Milan, where he won the Italian Serie A title in the 2020-2021 season. He then returned to Aston Villa before later moving to Everton and then Ipswich.
At the international level, Young played 39 international matches with the England national team between 2007 and 2018, and represented his country in the European Championship in 2012 and the World Cup, which was held in Russia in 2018.
