Wolves legend and ex-England defender Coady retires

Former Wolves captain Conor Coady shouts instructions

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Conor Coady made 317 of his 503 club appearances in a Wolves shirt

ByGed ScottBBC Sport England

Published30 minutes ago

Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Conor Coady has retired from playing at the age of 33.

The former Wolves skipper, who won 10 England caps, has been linked with a move into coaching, having been without a club since leaving Wrexham in September.

After beginning as a promising midfielder in the Liverpool academy, where he was compared in some quarters to Steven Gerrard, he moved first on loan to Sheffield United in 2013, before signing for Huddersfield Town at the end of that season.

But he enjoyed most of his success at Wolves after being converted into a central defender by then boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

He also played for Everton, Leicester City, Wrexham and on loan at Charlton last season in his 503-game club career.

Coady was signed by then Wolves boss Kenny Jackett in 2015 - and played a major part in the club's promotion back to the Premier League in 2018.

He captained the Wolves team who twice finished seventh and also reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

In all, he made 317 Wolves appearances, scoring seven of his career tally - for club and country - of 22 goals, before being allowed to leave on loan for Everton in 2022.

He then joined Leicester for a reported £8.5m in July 2023 after Everton opted not to complete a £4.5m deal to turn his season-long loan into a permanent switch.

Coady, who works as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live, then moved on to an ill-fated short spell at Wrexham, which was ended prematurely before his final move to The Valley, to join Nathan Jones' Charlton.

He has already been linked with the role of assistant head coach at League One side Barnsley.