7 former Aston Villa players we can’t believe are still playing in 2024
Aston Villa have had an up and down time over the past couple of decades, with loads of players coming and going at Villa Park – including some who are still playing.
You obviously know about James Milner and Ashley Young defying father time to continue playing in the Premier League, but what about those forgotten Villa men who are somehow still going away from the spotlight?
We’ve done some digging to find seven former Villa players from over the years you might not have known are still plying their trade in 2024.
Milan Baros
The Czech striker joined Villa in the summer of 2005 after lifting the Champions League trophy with Liverpool.
He spent two years at Villa Park and notched 14 goals and two assists in 51 appearances for the club before later stints with Lyon, Portsmouth and Galatasaray.
Baros hung up his boots as a professional after a third stint with boyhood club Banik Ostrava back in 2020.
We’re stretching things a bit here because Baros’ current club FK Vigantice are an amateur side, of which no detailed stats are available, but the Euro 2004 Golden Boot winner remains with them at the age of 42.
Brad Guzan
Guzan made 144 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa during an eight-year stint that ran from 2008 and 2016. The following year he went back to the States – and six years on he’s still turning out for Atlanta United.
The 40-year-old has been with the club for their entire MLS history. He is one of a string of goalkeepers who have tried and failed to stop Lionel Messi from scoring.
Pepe Reina
Few Villa fans will remember Reina’s brief spell at Villa Park with much fondness, with the goalkeeper putting in a string of performances that hinted retirement was on the horizon.
Aged 38 when he left the club in 2020, Reina is still going strong four years later and moved to newly-promoted Serie A outfit Como this summer.
He’s no bench-warmer either; the 42-year-old has started three of the club’s first four Serie A matches in 2024-25.
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Ross McCormack
After a career-best 28-goal campaign for Leeds in 2013-14, McCormack was sold to Fulham for £11million – a massive fee for a Championship club at the time.
He did reasonably well at Craven Cottage but his career went off the rails after he was sold for a small profit to Aston Villa two years later. He had more loans away (four) than goals scored (three) for Villa.
After a short and unsuccessful stint with Aldershot, he returned to the game after two years away to sign for non-league Liversedge, becoming a director before leaving in January 2024.
The 38-year-old signed for Central Midlands League North side Doncaster City a month later – in a publicity stunt alongside Wes Hoolahan and Charlie Mulgrew – and remains with the club today.
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Albert Adomah
A stalwart of Villa’s three-year spell in the Championship between 2016 and 2019, Adomah scored 22 goals in 125 appearances for the club and left for Nottingham Forest once Villa returned to the Premier League.
The exciting winger remained in the Championship until the end of the 2023-24 season, turning out for Forest, Cardiff and QPR, before dropping into League Two with a move to Walsall.
He’s already off the mark for the Saddlers and it’s theoretically possible to catch Adomah in action if you drive past the stadium on the M6 at the perfect time.
James Chester
Another player who helped Villa escape second-tier purgatory but left soon after, Chester has enjoyed a respectable career in the top two divisions.
The former Wales centre-back joined Stoke after leaving Villa Park, before spells with Derby County and Barrow.
Now 35, Chester is currently playing for Salford City in League Two.
Isaiah Osbourne
Born and raised in Birmingham, Osbourne joined Villa’s academy set-up as a youth and progressed to make his Premier League debut all the way back in 2006.
The midfielder went on to make a further 29 appearances for his hometown club but was released in 2011 after a series of underwhelming loans away.
He then went on trial with Leeds before signing for Hibernian, kicking off a real journeyman career in Scotland and England.
He’s represented no fewer than 10 clubs over the years but has been settled back in the Midlands and currently plays for Southern League Premier Division Central outfit Barwell FC.