Tom Huddlestone, a former Hull City and Derby County midfielder, has announced his retirement from the game on X.
The former England international has decided to retire at the age of 37. He made 585 appearances in all competitions, scoring 27 goals.
Huddlestone, who has four caps for the Three Lions, has spent the previous two years as a player-coach with Manchester United’s Under-21s and is now aiming to break into the coaching profession.
He has posted on X: “So the day has come to announce my retirement from playing professional football. From the age of 8 football is all I have ever known or wanted to do. To be able to do this until the age of 37 has been a blessing, with many ups and downs on this journey. Now is a time for me to repurpose to the other side of the game I love, coaching.”
Former Hull City and Derby County midfielder retires
Huddlestone worked his way up the ranks at Derby County before playing 95 appearances in his first term.
Tottenham Hotspur signed him in 2005, and he spent eight years with the London club, some of which was spent on loan at Wolves.
Hull City then came calling in 2013, following their elevation to the Premier League under Steve Bruce, and he was a member of the Tigers’ squad that reached the FA Cup final in 2014. However, they were defeated by Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.
Huddlestone was an important player for East Yorkshire, appearing in 161 games and scoring eight goals.
Derby County enticed him back to Pride Park after his stint at the MKM Stadium ended in 2017.
He stayed for three years before being re-signed by Hull City in 2022, under Grant McCann.
However, the Tigers chose not to keep him after the 2022/23 season, and he went on to join Manchester United.
What next?
As Huddlestone has alluded to, he wants to get into coaching properly now.
He will have gained valuable experience from his stint at Old Trafford.
His former teammate Liam Rosenior was manager of Hull City last term but was sacked after they missed out on the play-offs.
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