Ex-Manchester United player will hang up his boots after 765 appearances and 88 goals across five clubs
Ashley Young has confirmed he will retire from professional football at the end of the season, bringing a 23-year career to a close at the age of 40.
The former Manchester United and England full-back joined Ipswich Town last summer and is set to hang up his boots after playing for a season with the Tractor Boys and helping them to the brink of an immediate return to the Premier League.
Young expects Saturday’s Championship fixture against Queens Park Rangers to be his final match, provided Ipswich secure automatic promotion and avoid the play-offs.
“I am incredibly proud and fortunate to have achieved everything I have during my career,” Young said. “It’s not too often you sit and think about this while you are still in the game, but I have lived my dream during the last 23 years.
“It’s now time for some reflection on what I’ve been able to achieve and the next few weeks and months will be when I decide what I am going to do next.”
Young’s career includes 765 club appearances and 88 goals across spells with Watford, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Everton.
After coming through the academy at Watford, he helped the club earn promotion to the Premier League in 2006 before moving to Aston Villa in 2007, where he made his England debut and won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2009.
He joined Manchester United in 2011, spending eight-and-a-half years at Old Trafford and winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League. Internationally, he earned 39 caps and was part of Gareth Southgate’s squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Young later won Serie A with Inter in 2021 before returning to England for spells with Aston Villa and Everton.
He has made 15 appearances for Ipswich this season but not played since January due to a hip injury.
