"I probably was done 100% at the end of the season, until I spoke with the Ireland manager." That's Séamus Coleman, 37, explaining why he's still a footballer in 2025 instead of a retired Everton legend doing the punditry circuit.
Speaking on Stick to Football on Disney+, Coleman confirmed he turned down a move to Sheffield United after meeting Chris Wilder, and says a decision on where he ends up next is coming "very, very soon."
Why he said no to the Blades
The Championship move made sense on paper — a club with Premier League ambitions, a manager in Wilder who knows how to use experienced defenders, and a clear pathway to regular football. Coleman wasn't interested. "It just felt a bit soon after Everton," he said, adding that he didn't want to leave them waiting while he figured himself out.
That's a fair call. After 433 appearances and 17 years at Goodison — where he went from a 20-year-old Sligo Rovers signing to club captain and a PFA Team of the Year pick in 2013-14 — jumping straight into a new project probably did feel abrupt. He even briefly served as interim player-manager alongside Leighton Baines in January, taking charge for the FA Cup win over Peterborough after Sean Dyche's sacking. The man needed a breath.
Instead, he spent six weeks in Donegal training with local Gaelic football and soccer teams, staying sharp while the transfer window played out around him.
The Ireland factor is doing all the heavy lifting here
Heimir Hallgrimsson has essentially extended Coleman's career by giving him a reason to keep going. After being left out of the squad for a period under the Icelander, Coleman returned and starred in wins over Portugal and Hungary — performances that helped Ireland reach a World Cup play-off against Czechia, which ended in penalty heartbreak.
Hallgrimsson then raised the prospect of Euro 2028. That's three years away. For a 37-year-old who made just three club appearances last season — the last of which ended after ten minutes at Old Trafford in November due to injury — that's a significant ask from his body.
But Coleman's buying it. "That kind of planted a seed in my mind," he said. "Maybe I could carry on and see what it's like."
The window has closed, which Coleman himself flagged as the moment things might open up. A free agent of his experience and fitness level still has options — most likely at Championship or lower Premier League level, somewhere that offers game time without demanding he carry a side. Whatever he decides, he's not making a move without knowing it fits around Ireland's schedule. That's the non-negotiable.
"If it wasn't for the Ireland stuff, my decision would have been made."
