Chris Smalling: Former Man United league winner sets out retirement stance | OneFootball

Former Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is searching for the next destination in his career.

United career

The centre-back joined Manchester United from Fulham in 2010.

He went on to play nine seasons at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League twice. Smalling took part in an impressive 323 matches for the club, scoring 18 goals.

He also represented England 31 times and scored one goal.

The defender left Manchester United in 2019 and joined AS Roma. He spent five seasons in Italy, racking up 155 appearances in all competitions.

Smalling left the Italian capital in 2024 and played two seasons in Saudi Arabia for Al-Fayha.

Next destination

The former Manchester United man left the club in the summer and is searching for his next career journey.

The Sun paper reports that, “Chris Smalling has returned to the UK as the former Manchester United defender searches for a new club.”

The paper also adds, “the 36-year-old is without a team after leaving Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Fayha but insists he still has plenty left to offer.”

In spite of his age, Smalling still believes he can play at a high level and claimed, “I know my body now better than when I was 26 and that’s shown in the games I’m playing.”

He did admit that when his football career is over, he would like to focus on education projects, but it is still not time for this.

Smalling explained, “once my football career comes to an end, I can put more time to them but at the minute it’s all focused on playing because I have that passion and drive and physically my stats are good.”

Chris Smalling career stats

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