Ex-youngest player in Premier League history quits at 32 after non-league spell

Matthew Briggs held the record for the youngest-ever Premier League player for 12 years, but at just 32 he’s announced his retirement.

Briggs made history when he became the youngest-ever player to play in the Premier League at the age of 16 years and 65 days when he came off the bench for Fulham in their 3-1 defeat against Middlesbrough at the Riverside in 2007.

The left-back returned to school the following day to take a GCSE exam and held that record for 12 years before another Fulham youngster broke the record, with Harvey Elliott claiming the achievement by 35 days in 2019.

Following a journeyman career that saw Briggs play in Denmark and the lower reaches of non-league, the 32-year-old announced his retirement on Twitter on Tuesday (August 29).

READ MORE: Saudi big-spenders Al Ittihad want Arsenal and Man Utd transfers as well as Mo Salah

Briggs posted a collection of pictures during his playing career, including when he made his Premier League debut, playing against Manchester United at Old Trafford and him before playing for the Guyana national team.

He captioned the post: “I would also like to thank my family and friends for supporting me throughout my career. Thank you to the clubs, coaching & background staff, and teammates I've had along the way.

The new football season is nearly upon us and with 500 live games to watch, as well access to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL and the NBA across eight dedicated channels, Sky Sports is the only way to watch all the action.

Get Sky Sports from £22 a month

Can you remember Matthew Briggs’ career? Let us know in the comments section.

“Now I look forward to helping the next generation of future stars. Thank you. Briggsy”.

Despite making his debut at such a young age, Briggs played just 30 times for the Cottagers before joining Millwall in 2014 after being released by Fulham following multiple loan spells.

Briggs made just a handful of appearances for the Lions before joining League One Colchester United. He later played for Chesterfield and Barnet in League Two before playing for Danish sides HB Koge and Vejle either side of a short stay at National League South side Dartford.

The 15-time Guyana international played at youth level for England before switching his allegiance in 2015. He ended his career at Gosport Borough before joining Isthmian Premier League side Horsham for pre-season this summer but failed to appear in a league game.

Since dropping down to non-league, Briggs worked as a personal trainer and took up the academy player care mentor role at Fulham, where he will now look to help the next future stars in Fulham’s academy break into the first team as he did.

Source: Read Full Article