Seamus Coleman Says Retirement Is on His Mind

Seamus Coleman says he is thinking about retiring from football, but he is not ready to stop yet.

The Republic of Ireland defender is 37 and has been without a club since he left Everton at the end of last season. He spent 17 years at the Merseyside club, and the BBC reports that he made 374 Premier League appearances for Everton, a club record. He also has 81 caps for his country.

Coleman had hoped to keep playing until Euro 2028, the European Championship that will be held in 2028. He has not played since Ireland's friendly in Canada in June. Speaking on the Overlap Fan Debate with Jamie Carragher, he admitted that retirement is now something he is considering. He stopped short of calling time on his career.

It has been a long road to this point. Coleman signed a one-year contract extension with Everton in June 2025. By May 2026, Reuters and The Athletic were reporting that his contract would end and he would leave the club at the close of the season.

Everton offered him a coaching role. Coleman turned it down, because he wanted to try to extend his playing career. For a player who spent almost two decades at one club, that was a clear choice. It also means he is now a free agent, weighing his options with no club to return to.

For a lot of fans, Coleman is the name that stands for loyalty. A long run at one club, a record that will take some beating, and a career spent in a shirt his supporters recognised as his own. Whatever he decides, that record is already in the books.

Coleman has not said what his next step will be. Until he does, the question is simply whether a 37-year-old full-back still has a club willing to pick him up, and whether he still wants to try.