Dean Lewington has said he would like to be involved in MK Dons in the future following the announcement of his retirement.
The 40-year-old was the final bridge between the club’s original roots as Wimbledon FC and its current status, with the defender making his debut for the London club months before their relocation to Milton Keynes. He announced that this would be his final season in professional football and that he would move into coaching.
Lewington Reflects On Career
His 947 appearances for the club makes Lewington the fifth-highest appearance holder in the history of English football, only bettered by Peter Shilton, Tony Ford, Terry Paine and one of his former managers in current Bradford City boss Graham Alexander.
Speaking to the BBC, the Milton Keynes captain said:
“It feels quite surreal. Beforehand ‘retiring’ is just a word, it sounds OK and then it dawned on me that I won’t get to play football [any more], which is a little bit scary now that it’s come to it.
“It’s been on my mind for maybe two years now and it’s just the right time. I was in a Sunday league team at six, in an academy at eight, and I’m now about to turn 41, so three quarters of my life has been playing football.
“My whole life will change and that part is unfortunately coming to an end.”
He scored 28 times for the club, two of which came in their crucial League One match against Yeovil Town, which propelled them to reach the Championship in 2015. Lewington said that it was that game against the Glovers was the finest moment of his career, which also featured an EFL Cup appearance against Manchester United.
With Dean Lewington announcing his retirement, when better to rewatch the moment he helped secure promotion to the Championship with MK Dons 😮💨#MKDons #COYD pic.twitter.com/4IbO6J1Tk8
— The Real EFL (@RealEFLSocial) April 7, 2025
On his next steps, the defender said it would hurt if he had to move on from Milton Keynes to progress as a coach.
“I’m institutionalised now.
“It’s such a fantastic club. I’ve poured my life into it for 20 years and it saddens me to see where it is at the moment [in League Two].
“There is potential for it to be so much more and I would like to be involved in that, but whatever comes, we’ll wait and see.”
Writer’s View
A great servant not just to his club but to the entire English Football League, Dean Lewington is finally hanging up his boots after a storied career. It has certainly had its ups and downs, from his brilliant brace to reach the Championship before falling back down in recent years and slowly losing his first team place in recent seasons. Nevertheless, Lewington will be an icon in that part of Buckinghamshire and a name that will not be forgotten for a very long time. Everyone at The Real EFL wishes him the best of luck as he begins a career in coaching.
