Jay Rodriguez And Conor Coady Retire After Contrasting Wrexham Spells

Jay Rodriguez and Conor Coady have announced their retirements from professional football, ending two careers that reached the England stage before passing through Wrexham.

Rodriguez, 37, leaves the game having helped Phil Parkinson’s side secure promotion to the Championship in 2025. Coady, 33, departs with a more fleeting connection to the Racecourse, where a move carrying considerable expectation produced just six appearances.

Jay Rodriguez rose through Burnley’s academy before establishing himself in the Premier League with Southampton, earning an England cap in 2013. He later represented West Bromwich Albion and returned to Burnley, winning promotion in 2023. He concluded his career at Wrexham, where he helped secure Championship football before retiring at 37.

Conor Coady began at Liverpool before spells with Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town. He became Wolves captain, helped secure Championship promotion, and earned 10 England caps. Later moves took him to Everton, Leicester City, Wrexham and Charlton Athletic before he retired aged 33, having spent fifteen years playing professional senior football.

Jay Rodriguez, the physical demands of continuing had become increasingly difficult to ignore.

Speaking on the I Had Trials Once podcast, in comments reported by the Burnley Express, the striker explained that injuries during his final season at Wrexham had helped him accept retirement. An absence lasting three or four months was followed by another knee problem that cost him further time.

He described his Wrexham spell as “a great experience for myself”.

His strongest ties remain with his hometown club. Across two spells at Burnley, he made more than 300 appearances and scored 76 goals. When he left for Wrexham, Scott Parker said of the striker: “Jay is the ultimate professional”.

His performances for Southampton earned him an England appearance against Chile in 2013, before a serious knee injury ended his hopes of reaching the following year’s World Cup. He later played for West Bromwich Albion before returning to Turf Moor.

Cody Coady’s retirement centred on the frustration of watching football when he still wanted to play it.

“Physically I’m absolutely fine, I feel good, and I feel strong,” he told Sky Sports News.

The defender said limited involvement in recent seasons had been difficult to accept. Wrexham terminated his contract by mutual consent on August 31, following a spell that also included a loan at Charlton Athletic.

His greatest time as a player was at Wolves, where he made 317 appearances and helped win the Championship title in 2018. He later earned 10 England caps and made squads for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.