Billy Sharp has hung up his boots. The Sheffield United legend announced his retirement at the age of 40, closing a professional career that lasted 22 years and produced 299 goals.
"I'm going to hang my boots up. I've given it a good ride. I've got a long way, got to 40," he told Sky Sports. He had been a free agent since leaving Doncaster Rovers at the end of last season, and he left in the best way a striker can: a hat-trick in his final game, against Peterborough.
A Blades boy who never stopped scoring
Sharp was a boyhood Sheffield United supporter and the club stayed at the centre of his story. He made his Championship debut off the bench against Watford in November 2004 and went on to make 377 appearances in three separate spells. He scored 129 goals for the Blades, became club captain and played a leading part in three promotion campaigns: from League One in 2017, and from the Championship in 2019 and 2023.
The rest of the journey took in Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Hull City, Scunthorpe United, Reading, Doncaster Rovers and Rushden and Diamonds. He was part of the Southampton side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2012, and he spent a short stretch with LA Galaxy in 2023.
A last act worth writing about
Plenty assumed retirement was close after the MLS spell. Sharp returned to Yorkshire instead, first with Hull and then Doncaster. In 2025 he scored a dramatic late winner against Bradford City to secure promotion to League One for Rovers, and then came the Peterborough hat-trick. It meant he had scored EFL hat-tricks in his teens, his 20s, his 30s and his 40s.
There was a sting in it, too. He scored a fourth that day which would have taken him to 300 career goals, but it was ruled out for offside. "It would have been lovely to have got that 300th goal on that day but I've had an unbelievable career," he said.
What comes next looks busy. Sharp has joined Baller League team N5, who play six-a-side football and are led by former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, and he has finished his coaching badges with management in mind. "I'm maybe not the most talented player, maybe not the most liked on the pitch but that's because I love football," he said.
Career facts: Billy Sharp, 40, 22-year professional career, 299 goals. 377 appearances and 129 goals for Sheffield United across three spells. Final game: hat-trick for Doncaster Rovers against Peterborough. Source: BBC Sport, Sky Sports.
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