Chris Kirkland

Where is Chris Kirkland now?

Ex Liverpool and Coventry City goalkeeper Chris Kirkland retired from playing professionally in 2016 after a brief spell at League One side Bury.

He originally joined Bury on a one-year contract but left the club weeks later after making the decision to put his “family’s future and wellbeing first“. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in October 2017, Kirkland revealed that he had been suffering from depression and had even contemplated suicide before retiring from football.

Showing huge potential as a child, his father and a few of his friends put a £100 bet on him at 100/1 when he was eight-years-old to play for the England national side before he reached the age of 30. They won their bet in 2006 when he came on as a second-half substitute in a friendly game against Greece.

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Upon retiring from playing, Kirkland started working as a pundit and analyst for the likes of Sky Sports News and BBC’s Football Focus programme but returned to the game in 2017 when he joined his former Wigan Athletic team-mate Michael Brown at Port Vale as first-team goalkeeping coach.

Kirkland left Port Vale at the end of 2017 when Brown was sacked and joined former side Liverpool as goalkeeper coach of their women’s side, stepping in when caretaker manager Neil Redfearn resigned after just one game.

He returned to his coaching role at the club upon the appointment of manager Vicky Jepson but left the Reds in March 2019 to coach at the Professional Player Academy which is a now closed academy based in the North West.

In July 2019 Kirkland took to Twitter to confirm that he had checked into rehab in North Wales after struggles with anxiety and depression. He has since co-founded an application called Yapa which encourages users to send out text-based posts that are mood dependent ange from ‘Depressed’ to ‘Happy’ via different colour codes, giving members the chance to connect with other users.

In May 2020 he made a return to football as head goalkeeper coach at non-league side Colne FC but he left the club in 2023.

Follow on Twitter @ChrisKirkland43

Back to Coventry City / Wigan Athletic



#One2Eleven

Chris Kirkland was a guest on Sky Sports programme The Fantasy Football Club in October 2016 where he picked the eleven best players he had ever played with in their #One2Eleven section of the show.

Chris Kirkland One2ElevenGK – Steve Ogrizovic – I still speak to him now and go to him for advice.

RB  Ryan Taylor – probably the best right-foot I have seen in football. So comfortable on the ball from right back.

LB – Leighton Baines – was with Baines at Wigan. Fantastic passer and used to make such an impact going forward.

CB – Sami Hyypiawhen he played with Stephane Henchoz at Liverpool they complimented each other so well and were very hard to get by.

CB – Arjan de Zeeuw – what a gentleman, everyone had respect for him. He was a very good player and a very quick brain. Really good with the younger lads too.

CM – Steven Gerrard– the talisman for Liverpool and one of the club’s all-time best players. We always looked to him to pull us out of trouble and nine times out of ten he did.

CM – Xabi Alonso – never gave a pass away in training or in games. It looked so easy for him. Very well liked.

CM – Gary McAllister – make the game look so easy. Had such a big impact on the other players pulling everyone together.

Striker – Antonio Valencia – a great guy and an absolute steal when Steve Bruce bought him for £600k and later sold him on for £20 million. A big part of the Wigan team with his pace and power.

Striker – Emile Heskey – the main focal point when we were at Wigan together. On his day he was unplayable.

Striker – Robbie Keane – a fan’s favourite at Coventry and was just a box of tricks. A real joker in the dressing room too.


Chris Kirkland: Premier League Statistics

NationalityEnglish
PositionGoalkeeper
Appearances189
Clean Sheets38
Yellow Cards5
Red Cards1
Premier League Teams Played forCoventry City, Liverpool, Wigan Athletic

Statistics courtesy of www.premierleague.com

Last Updated on 22 September 2023 by Admin