Former Hibs star retires from football as he hangs up his boots after exit from Scottish club
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Former Hibs winger Aiden McGeady has retired at the age of 38.
He last played for Ayr United before his contract was ripped up in leaving the Scottish Championship side by mutual consent at the start of the month. A tricky winger, he joined Celtic in 2000 and rose up through their academy ranks.
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Hide AdMcGeady was handed him his debut at the age of just 18 in a Scottish Premiership clash against Hearts near the end of the 2003/04 season. He then went on to make 252 appearances in all competitions and scored 37 goals.
McGeady won the league title four times during his time at Celtic Park. After leaving Scotland, he went on to have spells at Spartak Moscow, Everton, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday. Sunderland snapped him up in 2017 and he spent four out of his five years at the Stadium of Light in League One, as well as having a loan spell away from the Black Cats at Charlton Athletic.
He then cut ties with the North East club and moved back up the border when Hibs came calling. He parted ways with the Edinburgh club just over 12 months ago and said at the time: “I know how it looks. At my age it’s a hard sell for a manager. ‘Let’s go and sign a 37-year-old who hasn’t really played for a year.’ I’m totally fit now, I was training right up until expiry of my contract at Hibs on 30 June.
“I know a lot of people who think they retired too early. I still enjoy it. I still enjoy competing and going into training every day. I love playing and the key thing is that I know I still can. I went to Hibs thinking: ‘I probably shouldn’t be playing at the top level in Scotland,’ but I knew last season when I was fit and training, I could still do what I wanted to do.
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Hide Ad“I’m not as quick as I used to be over 40-50 yards but I can still get beyond people to get a cross or shot away. I’m proud of still being able to play.
“I understand when you become a manager that you have to exert authority. But I have seen managers doing so many things that annoy players. Why would you want to annoy players? You should get them on side. When I was young I was quite quiet but as I got older, I’d be more vocal in meetings. I think I’m perfectly easy to manage, if things are done properly.”
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