3 ex-Leeds United players we can’t believe are still playing in 2023
Football League World takes a look at three former Leeds United players who are still playing in 2023.
2022/23 was a miserable campaign for Leeds United who have been relegated from the Premier League back to the Championship.
The 4-1 defeat to Spurs in the final game of the season ends a three-year stay in the top flight for Leeds after Marcelo Bielsa gained promotion with the club in 2020.
Despite seven new first-team signings this season, Leeds struggled for most of the campaign, with Jesse Marsch eventually sacked and replaced by Javi Gracia earlier this year.
The Spaniard would last only a little over two months in charge, with Sam Allardyce then appointed to take charge of the final four games of the campaign.
Leeds did enjoy some success in the Premier League, under Bielsa’s tutelage, and would finish ninth upon their returning season to the top flight, after 16 years away.
However, they will be in the Championship in 2023/24.
Which former Leeds United players are currently still playing professionally?
Looking back, many players have passed through the door for Leeds in the second tier in particular. Here, we take a look at three former Leeds players we can’t believe are still continuing to play in 2023.
Pablo Hernandez
‘El Mago’ or ‘The Magician’ was the shining light for Leeds during their most recent years in the Championship. The Spaniard picked up three Player of the Season awards during his time at the club.
Despite joining in his early 30s he became the heartbeat of the team, and under Bielsa, he played some of the best football of his career, which culminated in that promotion in 2019-20. He scored or assisted 77 goals in 175 games for Leeds.
The 38-year-old now plays with CD Castellon, where he has been since leaving Leeds. He has not yet retired, though, and signed a three-year deal in 2021.
Is Neil Kilkenny still playing?
Kilkenny has a well-established career in England, having played for the likes of Birmingham City, Oldham Athletic, Leeds, Preston North End, and Bristol City.
He played more games for Leeds than any other club, amassing 144 appearances for the Whites from 2008-2011, and scored 11 times with a further 18 assists. He then joined Bristol City and Preston before returning to his native Australia.
The 37-year-old joined Melbourne City and then Perth Glory, but most recently was with Western United, where his contract expires at the end of the season.
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