Speculation within England and New Zealand states that recently named Wellington Phoenix captain Steven Taylor is set to retire from football immediately, after re-signing with the Wellington Phoenix earlier this year.
Sky Sports Presenter Pete Graves tweeted this evening that the former Newcastle United and Portland Timbers man has retired.
Taylor signed for the Phoenix in 2018, playing two seasons and playing 50 games in his first stint before signing for Indian Super League club Odisha FC where he played 17 games. he returned to the ‘Nix in March of this year, where he played 12 games to close out the season.
The aforementioned reports have been substantiated by NZ Stuff journalist Andrew Voerman, where he states that a close source to Steven Taylor has indeed revealed that he has retired from professional football.
Fellow NZ Stuff journalist Phillip Rollo has had it confirmed to him by Taylor that he has also indeed retired from professional football.
Taylor had an over ten year stint at Premier League side Newcastle United playing in 268 games, scoring 15 goals. He also has 29 English Under-21 caps and one England B appearance to his name.
In a press conference last week, Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay revealed that Taylor would be captaining the side for the upcoming 2021-22 A-League season.
Furthermore, Stuff have confirmed that this is not an injury related retirement and that the fact that the ‘Nix will be based in Australia for the start of the campaign is playing a huge factor in the decision.
“100 per cent [I have retired] There’s no chance I would leave the Phoenix to go to another club. That would not happen,” Taylor said to NZ Stuff.
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