NewsMartin Kelly announces retirement from football
Former Liverpool player Martin Kelly has announced his retirement from football at the age of 35.
Whiston-born Kelly joined the Academy as an eight-year-old and went on to make 62 senior appearances for the Reds between 2008 and 2014, primarily at right-back.
He made his senior debut in December 2008 when, aged 18, he came off the bench in an away Champions League victory over PSV Eindhoven.
Kelly would make a total of 43 appearances across the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, and scored his only goal for the club as Chelsea were beaten 2-0 in a League Cup quarter-final in November 2011. He was an unused substitute in the final win over Cardiff City at Wembley.
Kelly gained his sole senior international cap for England in May 2012 and was part of the Three Lions’ squad for that summer’s European Championship.
His progress was stymied by an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered early in the following season and, after playing eight times during the Reds’ memorable 2013-14 campaign, Kelly left for Crystal Palace.
He made 148 appearances for Palace before joining West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2022. A loan move to Wigan Athletic followed, but Kelly sustained another serious knee injury on debut for the Latics and has now formally called time on his playing career.
Kelly told The Athletic: “I’ve never actually got around to writing the social media post to announce it; I’ve only told friends and family, but yeah, I’ve retired.
“It was March when I sat down with the family and told them I was thinking about it. Around the same time, I got asked to play for Liverpool in a legends game against Chelsea. One of the stipulations was that you had to be retired, so that just reaffirmed my decision.”
Kelly is set to again represent Liverpool FC Legends against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Everyone at LFC wishes him the best of luck for the future.