Former Aston Villa goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, has drawn a close to his playing career, after twenty-one years between the sticks. The 41-year-old's final game is set to take place on Saturday for the finale of the 2025 MLS season. Having made 546 professional club appearances, it remains to be seen whether Atlanta United manager, Ronny Delia, will let the American appear one final time, despite finding himself second choice in the last couple of months.
21 years is a long time.
— brad guzan (@bguzan) October 14, 2025
I’m just a kid from Chicago who instantly knew this game was for me.
Today, as I prepare to hang up my gloves, I know this journey was never just about me.
THANK YOU - TO EVERYONE. pic.twitter.com/t04hYLVaax
Villa Career
Guzan spent eight years at Villa, joining the club in the summer of 2008 from Chivas USA for £600,000 ($1 million). A £2 million deal was agreed in January of the same year, but Guzan failed to obtain a work permit and so the move broke down. However, his contract was due to expire at the end of the 2008 MLS season in November, which would have allowed him to join Villa on a free in January 2009. Villa wanted him earlier and so paid a significantly lower fee.
He went on to make a total of 171 appearances with the majority of those under Paul Lambert. Guzan had to bide his time before becoming No 1 at Villa, as he was deputising fellow American Brad Friedel. In his first couple of seasons, he was mainly used in cup competitions and sometimes European games. A loan spell at Hull City in the 2010/11 season, enabled him to get regular game time, picking up 16 appearances before returning to Villa in April.
Happy retirement to Brad Guzan, who spent eight years of his career as a Villan! 🧤 pic.twitter.com/KxbjwmnYgf
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 14, 2025
When Paul Lambert became manager for the 2012/13 campaign, Guzan was re-signed after he was released by Alex McLeish earlier in the summer. He then became Villa's No 1 ahead of Irishman Shay Given mainly due to his ability to be quick off his line and his overall commanding presence. That season saw him produce a number of stellar performances, which earned him Players' Player and Supporters' Player of the Season awards.
Only a couple of months later, Guzan was rewarded with a new four-year contract, which saw his new deal run until the end of the 2016/17 season. He continued to be a reliable figure in goal for Villa in the upcoming campaign and he even got an assist in the remarkable 3-2 victory against Manchester City on September 28th 2013.
Andreas Weimann 🤌
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 28, 2024
1️⃣1️⃣ years ago #OnThisDay, we came from behind twice to beat Man City 3-2 at Villa Park 👏 pic.twitter.com/Yma7ULT2Ap
Guzan remained as number one for another season and a half but his confidence dipped after a few errors and overall poor team performances. He was then dropped by Tim Sherwood after making a huge mistake against Man City in 2015, which saw his sliced clearance fall straight to Sergio Agüero to tap into an empty net. His Villa career ended on a sour note, with him seemingly being susceptible to errors, overshadowing his overall ability.
Final Years Of His Career
When Villa were relegated in 2016, Guzan moved to Middlesbrough, who were newly promoted to the Premier League. He made 14 appearances in all competitions for Boro before returning to the USA in 2017 to join Atlanta United. They were only formed in 2014, with Guzan cementing himself in history over the nine seasons he has been at the club.
A US Open Cup, a Campeones Cup and a MLS Cup all with Guzan playing a massive part in, not to mention his 64 caps with the USMNT and three CONCACAF Gold Cups. He has reached legendary status at Atlanta with the most appearances (261), most wins (99), most saves (703), and most clean sheets (67).
He was made captain in 2019 and despite picking up an achilles tendon injury in 2022, Guzan remained No 1 throughout his entire tenure at Atlanta.
Fulfilling his dream of playing in the Premier League, to leading a club from the bottom up in the MLS, Guzan leaves behind a legacy. For Villa supporters, although he made some mistakes here and there, he will be remembered as a formidable goalkeeper and overall fantastic guy.
