You just can’t keep some people away from football.
An England one-cap wonder relaunched his career just one day after retiring – by starring in a legends match for Liverpool.
Being so eager to scratch his footballing itch, the 35-year-old turned out as Liverpool beat Chelsea’s legends 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Plenty of big-name stars took part including John Terry, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Joe Cole, Pepe Reina, and goalscorer Ryan Babel.
And there was also a start for Martin Kelly, the former defender who announced his retirement on Friday.
Kelly made a total of 154 Premier League appearances across stints with the Reds and latterly Crystal Palace.
Former Liverpool star Martin Kelly played for Liverpool legends against Chelsea just a day after retiring (pictured in March)
Kelly had the shortest England career in history, playing for six minutes and 53 seconds
He played 62 times for Liverpool between 2008 and 2014 before joining Crystal Palace
He also turned out for Huddersfield, West Brom, and Wigan – winning man of the man and tearing his ACL in his only appearance for the Greater Manchester side.
In 2012, Kelly was handed the honour of playing for England as he came off the bench against Norway.
And so far he has gone down in history as having the shortest England career ever. Kelly played a total of six minutes and 53 seconds, less time than any other player to turn out for the Three Lions, and cruelly just a second fewer than Nathaniel Chalobah.
Kelly has not played a professional game since February 2023, was released by West Brom in May last year, and stepped away from the game without announcing it in March.
But he only confirmed his retirement a couple of days ago in an interview with The Athletic.
‘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 [played in March]. One of the stipulations was that you had to be retired, so that just reaffirmed my decision.
‘After so many years of only having three or four weeks off before getting back into pre-season, it was amazing to have a long summer with the family. My daughters are aged five and eight, so I’m really enjoying being around as a dad; doing things I didn’t get to do as a footballer, like the school run.’
Kelly still plays football with a team of former Premier League stars in Manchester including Joleon Lescott, Phil Bardsley, Danny Drinkwater, Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse and Danny Simpson, as per The Athletic.
He also harbours ambitions of being a manager and is getting ready to study his UEFA A Licence.
Remembering his sole England cap, he told the publication: ‘Yeah, apparently the shortest England career in history. I don’t know for sure how accurate that is, but it’s what I’ve been told. I’m absolutely fine with that. Making my international debut was one of the proudest moments of my life.
‘I came on at right-back, had a few touches, and then it was all over. When Gary Cahill broke his jaw a week later, (England manager) Roy Hodgson called me up as a replacement in the squad for the [2012] Euros.
‘It was a shame that I spent the first 10 days of the tournament in bed with a virus and never got the chance to play for England again, but just getting there meant so much after the hurdles I’d had to overcome.’
