The Players Lounge · Episode 06Published
Joe Riley: Making My Man United Debut, Zlatan & Life Beyond Football
Former Manchester United player · Released 5 November 2026 · 1 hr 31 min
Joe Riley on growing up in Manchester United's academy, debuting alongside Marcus Rashford, dressing-room stories with Zlatan and building a life beyond football.
Show notes
- Academy pressure and contracts from the age of eight.
- Coming through United's academy alongside Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay.
- The mentality Warren Joyce demanded.
- His Manchester United first-team debut.
- A loan at Sheffield United and leaving United.
- Spells at Bradford, Carlisle and Walsall, and the injuries along the way.
- Non-league football, work and identity beyond the game.
More episodes
Episode 05 · 1 hr 33 min
Fraizer Campbell
The Sir Alex Call That Sent Him to Spurs
Episode 04 · 1 hr 57 min
Nile Ranger
£10,000 a Week, Newcastle, Prison & Fatherhood
Episode 03 · 1 hr 18 min
Hayden Mullins
One Red Card Cost Me the FA Cup Final
Episode 02 · 2 hr 23 min
Robert Earnshaw
I Went to Play Football but Ended Up in a War
Episode 01 · 59 min
Mark O'Brien
The goal, the heart surgery, the comeback