Former England international Martin Kelly has announced his retirement from professional football, drawing a line under a 17-year senior career that took in Liverpool, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion.
Kelly, 35, revealed he made the decision in March after a prolonged battle to return from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered on his Wigan Athletic debut while on loan from West Brom in February 2023. Released by Albion in the summer of 2024, he trained with Salford City in a bid to earn a deal, but persistent issues curtailed his comeback.
He confirmed the news ahead of featuring in a Liverpool Legends charity match and is now working towards his UEFA A Licence with ambitions to move into management.
Martin Kelly Career
A product of Liverpool’s academy, the Whiston-born defender made his first-team debut in 2008 and amassed 62 senior appearances for the Reds, lifting the League Cup in 2012. A reliable, versatile option at right-back and centre-back, Kelly also enjoyed a productive eight-year spell at Crystal Palace following a £2m move in 2014, making 148 appearances in all competitions and scoring a memorable FA Cup winner at Tottenham in 2016. He later joined West Brom on a free transfer in 2022.
Internationally, Kelly entered the record books in unusual fashion: he won his sole England cap as an 87th-minute substitute in a friendly against Norway in May 2012, a two-minute cameo often cited as the shortest senior England career by playing time. He was then drafted into Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad as injury cover but did not feature.
Reflecting on retirement, Kelly said the extended time away from the weekly grind of football had offered valuable perspective, allowing him to enjoy family life while plotting the next stage of his career.
“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,” he said.
“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’s journey was shaped by resilience. Serious injuries interrupted momentum at key moments, notably an ACL rupture at Liverpool in 2012 and the knee damage sustained at Wigan, yet he consistently re-established himself as a trusted squad member. At Palace he was valued for professionalism and adaptability, often filling in across the back line during managerial changes and injury crises.
For West Brom, his time was brief, limited to seven senior outings across league and cups, but he was praised for his application around the training ground before fate intervened at the DW Stadium. That ill-fated loan effectively ended his playing days.
Writer’s View
Kelly’s story is one of professionalism, perseverance and quiet influence. Though injuries limited his peak years, his consistency for both Liverpool and Crystal Palace underlines how highly managers valued his dependability. His single England appearance will always stand out as a quirk of international football, but his club career reflects the durability of a player trusted in the Premier League for over a decade.
Now moving into coaching, Kelly’s experience across different levels of the game should serve him well as he begins the next phase of his career.
