Joe Allen: Midfielder to be remembered as Welsh national treasure

Joe Allen was barely out of primary school when word got around about a midfielder from Pembrokeshire making a big impression in Swansea City's academy.

A quarter of century later, Allen has called time on a career which will see him remembered as one of Wales' finest footballers.

Having been hailed as a star in the making from a very early age, Allen has fulfilled his potential.

He retires aged 35, having played at three major tournaments for Wales and racked up nearly 600 club appearances for Swansea – across two spells – Liverpool, Stoke City and Wrexham, where he had a brief spell on loan as a teenager.

When Allen retired from international football in 2023, Gareth Bale described Allen as a "legend". It takes one to know one, as they say.

Allen was rarely mentioned in the same bracket as Bale, arguably Wales' greatest player, or Aaron Ramsey, his more decorated midfield colleague.

But like Bale and Ramsey, Allen was a major player during the golden era in the history of Wales' men's national team.

His contribution was immense, his influence vast.

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