Early Years at Manchester United
Joe Riley joined Manchester United at the age of six and spent 15 years with the club. He started for Manchester United in 2016 in the match Marcus Rashford made his senior debut. Riley's time at United was marked by a few notable moments, including his start against Midtjylland in the Europa League at Old Trafford in February 2016. He played for the under-18s with Rashford, Scotland midfielder McTominay, now at Napoli, and England goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who is at Crystal Palace.
Riley's mum, Derren, and sister, Sophie, were in the 58,609 crowd at Old Trafford to watch him play 79 minutes. United had lost the first leg in Denmark 2-1 and were in danger of going out of Europe. After that magical night against Midtjylland, Riley's 15 years at United ended on 25 May 2018. He joined League One Bradford City on a two-year contract, but his time there was cut short due to injuries.
New Career and Non-League Football
Riley's two years with the Bantams included 10 months out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. He then joined Walsall in 2022, but a long-standing foot issue soon after meant he had to take a break from football. Riley put those nine months to good use, studying for a new career in financial services. Today, he works for a company in Sale, near Manchester, after bringing the curtain down on his full-time playing career. He has now joined Warrington Rylands in the seventh tier of English football, where he is enjoying his time playing non-league football.