Former Sierra Leone international, Curtis Davies has announced his retirement, concluding a career spanning over two decades.
The 39-year-old center-back was released by Cheltenham Town following their relegation from League One last season. Davies made 677 professional appearances in English football, starting with his debut for Luton Town in 2003. Throughout his career, he played for West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Hull City, Derby County, and Cheltenham. Notably, he scored for Hull City in their FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal in the 2013-14 season.
In addition to his club career, Davies earned three caps for Sierra Leone and played three times for the England Under-21 team. Announcing his retirement on his official X account, Davies wrote, “The day has finally come. After much deliberation over the last few months, I have decided to retire from football. Growing up as a kid, I simply wanted to be a footballer. To have played and scored at Wembley, competed in the Premier League, and represented both England U21 and Sierra Leone over my 23-year career truly was a dream come true. There have been plenty of ups and maybe even more downs, but all combined, it made my journey a very special one.”
During his career, Davies won the League One title with Luton and was part of Birmingham City’s squad that won the League Cup in 2010-11, although he was cup-tied and unable to play in the final. He made 145 appearances for Hull, scoring seven goals, including the FA Cup final goal that gave Hull a 2-0 lead against Arsenal, though the Gunners fought back to win 3-2.
After Hull’s relegation from the Premier League, Davies moved to Derby County in 2017, where he made 175 appearances and helped the team reach the Championship play-off final in 2018-19. He joined Cheltenham last summer, making 39 appearances for the club as they were relegated to League Two.
