Leeds United's 28-goal captain later cost Aston Villa £12m - now he's playing amateur football | OneFootball

One of the Championship's most potent frontmen, Ross McCormack, has just come out of retirement to play amateur football, aged 40

There arguably haven't been many better Championship strikers over the years than Ross McCormack.

The 13-capped Scottish international is the current fourth-highest top scorer in Championship history, with 120 goals across 331 appearances across several different clubs, such as Cardiff City, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Fulham.

McCormack may never have played Premier League football throughout his career, but he's one of very few players who can say they've been bought for eight-figure fees twice by Championship clubs.

And now, aged 40, he's come out of a two-year retirement to play amateur football in his native Scotland.

Ross McCormack's rise to Championship superstardom at Leeds United

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McCormack burst onto the scene in the Championship as a Cardiff player in the 2008/09 campaign, netting 21 times in 38 games in his first year at the level after arriving from SPL side Motherwell.

However, after a couple of dud years following that, some critics had thought that the frontman could have been a one-season wonder at the level. At Leeds, he made sure to quieten those claims.

There really wasn't much to get excited about at Elland Road during the mid-2010s. Between 2011 and 2016, the Whites finished between 13th and 15th for five successive second-tier campaigns. Remarkably, three of those years saw McCormack lead the line brilliantly.

In 2011/12, he scored 18 and assisted six. In 2012/13, he only scored five league goals, but made up for it with 13 assists, and in 2013/14, the Scotsman wore the captain's armband and netted a Golden Boot-winning 28, while also racking up 10 assists, too.

In comparison, McCormack's teammates netted just 31 times in that final campaign, and it's not that far-fetched an argument to believe that Leeds could have been in real danger of dropping back into League One if it wasn't for his excellence in front of goal.

How Ross McCormack came to be worth £12 million in 2016

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It was evident that McCormack's future didn't lie at Leeds after that 28-goal campaign, and after handing in a transfer request, recently-relegated Fulham spent £11 million on his services to bring him to Craven Cottage.

However, the then-27-year-old's knack for putting up brilliant scoring numbers for middling Championship sides followed him from West Yorkshire to West London. The Cottagers would finish 17th and 20th respectively in his two years at the club.

Nevertheless, McCormack netted 17 in his first year at Fulham and 21 in his second; his third campaign at the level with 20 or more goals.

But now, the frontman was in the same position as he was two years prior at Leeds, arguably for a worse club. He'd proven that he belonged at a club battling for Premier League promotion, so he moved again, joining recently-relegated Aston Villa for £12 million.

He was unable to mirror that goal return at Villa Park, though, scoring just three times in 20 games before spending the rest of his contract out on loan at the likes of Nottingham Forest, Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners in Australia and back at Motherwell.

Ross McCormack is back in football, signing for a top Scottish amateur club aged 40

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McCormack bounced around non-league in England for a bit before calling time on his career in March 2024. Two years later, he's back out of retirement and has signed for Scottish amateur side Giffnock North AAC.

Giffnock North play in the Premier Division of the Caledonian League and have won four of their opening six games of the new campaign. Last season, they finished third, scoring the second-most goals in the division.

You'd expect that McCormack, despite turning 40 in August, would add to that tally over the course of the upcoming campaign.

Ross McCormack's playing career to end on a high in the Scottish amateur game

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It's not uncommon for former professional players to head into amateur and veteran leagues to recapture the buzz of playing after their time at the top level has ended.

In England, the Wythenshawe vets side houses numerous former Premier League players and is managed by former Manchester City and Republic of Ireland international Steven Ireland.

It's unknown how competitive amateur football is in Scotland, but after a storied Championship career, you'd expect that McCormack will be looking to replicate his goalscoring excellence at his new club, the likes of Cardiff, Leeds and Fulham were treated to during his professional days.