Ex-£850k Sunderland, Rangers and Aston Villa man announces retirement aged 37
The former Sunderland man has retired from professional football.
Ex-Manchester United, Rangers, Aston Villa Sheffield United, Burnley, Stoke City and Sunderland man Phil Bardsley has announced his retirement from football.
Bardsley, a former Scottish international, came up through the ranks at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson before moving to Sunderland on a permanent deal during the 2007-08 season for an initial fee of £850,000.
The Salford-born right-back stayed at the Stadium of Light for seven campaigns before moving to Stoke City and then Burnley then becoming a free agent following Burnley’s relegation to the Championship at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
Ex-Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney was reportedly eyeing a deal to bring his former teammate to Derby County before his departure as Rams manager but Bardsley ended up joining Stockport Town.
He only made a handful of appearances at the League Two club before calling time on his career after injuries had limited him to just six league outings in the past three seasons.
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Report: ‘Special’ £38.6m star has now told club he wants to leave with Aston Villa favourites to sign him
Pau Torres has now informed Villarreal that he wants to leave the club this summer, with Aston Villa the favourites to sign the centre-back in the transfer window.
That is according to a report from Marca, which notes that Unai Emery is in love with the player as the Villans prepare their squad for European football next year.
It does appear that Pau Torres is a key target for Villa this summer. Reports from the Daily Mail this week claimed that Aston Villa want to pay £35 million to sign Torres.
Pau Torres tells Villarreal he wants to leave as Aston Villa eye deal
It would probably surprise some that the defender is yet to take the next step in his career, having spent more than two decades on the books with the Yellow Submarine.
But it seems that he has now decided that this is the summer for a change. Marca claims that Torres has told his agents to inform Villarreal that he wishes to leave.
The slight issue is that Villa do not want to pay what Villarreal are demanding. Marca suggests that they are looking for at least £38.6 million for the 26-year-old. And Villa are not willing to meet those demands.
Based on the two reports however, the two clubs are not far away. And Emery obviously knows Torres well from his time managing Villarreal.
So you would like to think that an agreement can be reached – particularly now that Torres has informed his club that he wishes to leave in this window.
It would be a coup for Aston Villa to sign Torres. He is a ‘special‘ talent and a class act as a defender. It would be another inspired piece of business to get him through the door.
