Former Man Utd star signed by Alex Ferguson joins SEVENTEETH club of amazing career at 36

FORMER Manchester United ace Lee Martin has signed for his 17th club aged 36.

The Devon-born ace made three first-team appearances for the Red Devils after coming through their famous academy.

Legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson handed him his United debut in a League Cup tie against Barnet in 2005, before playing him again in the competition in a clash with Coventry two seasons later.

Martin made his one and only Premier League outing in a 1-0 win at Hull in May 2009.

While he was also an unused substitute during two Champions League matches.

Following his Old Trafford exit, Martin dropped into the Championship, before eventually ending up in non-league.

After spending last season at Dover Athletic in the National League South, Martin has signed for eighth tier Ramsgate.

The winger will now ply his trade in the Isthmian League South East Division.

Martin joined United as a 16-year-old for £1million from Wimbledon in 2003.

In addition to the Red Devils, he had also attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham.

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During his time at United, Martin went on loan spells at Royal Antwerp, Rangers, Stoke, Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest.

Martin joined Ipswich on a permanent deal in 2009 for around £1.5m.

He spent four years at Portman Road, and was loaned out to Charlton for the 2010-11 season.

A three-year stint with Millwall followed, with Martin loaned to Northampton prior to being released in 2016.

Permanent spells at Gillingham and Exeter followed, before the former wonderkid dropped into non-league with Ebbsfleet in 2020, spending two years there ahead of signing for Dover last year.

Chatting about his Prem debut to Planet Football last year, Martin admitted that he already knew he’d be leaving United.

He said: “Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed with me and brought me back into the first-team fold, I was training with the team, I was on the bench against Aston Villa. He held me in high regard, so I finally got the opportunity.

“The likes of [Federico] Macheda and [Danny] Welbeck were just coming through at the time so it was a good chance for them, but for me it was my last chance and an added bonus for doing well after coming back. I was ultimately playing for a move.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk