Danny Welbeck from Brighton: “I don’t think about retirement – it will not happen as soon as people think”

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Danny Welbeck discusses his first league goals as a 17 -year -old substitute for Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson almost several years ago.

“”I was involved in the first team at the start of the season, in training sessions, “said Welbeck about the role he played during a 5-0 dismantling of Stoke City in Old Trafford in November 2008.”As A young child who grows up in United, IIt is even a dream of training with these players.

“I had traveled in matches, and I think Sir Alex gave me a little more mentoring, where you go to the Games, But you are not on the team, you are not on the bench or anything, but you have somehow accustomed to the professional football process. It was an incredible moment for me.

“I went to the game (stoke) and I was not even sure that I would be on the bench, And then it was the fabric of dreams when I came and I made my debut and I also marked. “”

Welbeck made an elegant entrance to the elite in the illustrious company with a strike in the upper corner from 25 meters. Cristiano Ronaldo (two) and Dimitar Berbatov were also on the match sheet this Saturday in a starting program which also included Carlos Tevez, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin Van der Sar, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra.

“It was an incredible opportunity,” said Welbeck in an exclusive interview. “”Being with these players, personalities and seeing them day after day. You train with them, you speak with them and they give you advice.

“YYou feel honored and privileged to grow in this environment. Entering the professional game under their direction was incredible. I think it was really important for me to go through it and see how these people were born from the winners. Everything they do is intended to win and see that after time, it was great for me. I always have a lot of things I learned at the time with me now.

Welbeck will be 35 years old in November. He is still going strong with Brighton & Hove Albion, his fifth Premier League club in a career that included spells at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery, Sunderland (on loan) and Watford, a title of Premier League, two victories in FA Cup, two triumphs of the League Cup, 42 games and 16 goals for England and global and a European championship.

“It’s crazy how fast,” said Welbeck, a senior voice in a Brighton cloakroom overflowing with young talents under their 32-year-old head coach Fabian Hurzeler. “”When I was younger, when I was their age, the guys said to me: “REnjoy it because it goes so fast. ” It’s true, it’s going very quickly. I took everything they said at the time. I think it is important to have senior players in the locker room: Standards, experiences, just to transmit this kind of advice. The experience is invaluable And now I fell into this category. »»

Welbeck sat under the Spanish sun in Marbella during the pre-season to think with Athletics on how his career has evolved. So many things have changed since this winter in the afternoon in Old Trafford when he launched his long high-end career with an impact of the bench.

Pre -season preparations have clearly been transformed since Welbeck’s adolescence under Ferguson – he was still working this summer during family vacation in Greece. He says, “(Ferguson) didn’t really give you a detailed summer plan. Football has evolved so much. Now every small detail. You get a lot of programs that you can do throughout the summer To keep you in good condition. At the time, it was simply not in terms of the way he is today.

Ferguson gave Welbeck his senior beginnings, but no detailed summer training plan (Matthew Peters / Getty Images)

“I would have the summer holidays, but I would simply play football with my comrades. Tips like that weren’t as checked as today. I think you had more latitude to do what you wanted. When I grew up, my summer breaks were always much shorter, because I usually had a tournament – you are there anyway.

“Nowadays, when you go with the family and also have two young children, it is more difficult to find a football field and spend time away from children. It’s just at the gymnasium. If you have a nearby land, you try to use it. You should always keep things and use the gymnasium when you can.

Welbeck remains in perfect condition to challenge years in advance. He has always been disciplined by eating habits and alcohol consumption since his education in United – lean meat or fish, cooked by his wife or mother, are basic products. Brighton, in common with most elite level clubs, takes their own chief with them during trips outside.

“Hence I come from (in United), everyone was really on it with his food, which they took,” explains Welbeck. “Drink? Some players probably drink more than others. It’s good when, after one of the holidays, you can have a little more cooling period. Then when you go back, you know it’s time to work.

“It has certainly become much more concentrated these days, when everyone is so physical. They try to go to the point of the tips. Each small percentage counts. Everyone takes him if seriously. If you can get a little percentage in addition to someone, a little more, then you try to do what you can get there. ”

Welbeck would have done much more than his 364 Premier League appearances without the injuries that held him intermittently. During five seasons with Arsenal from 2014 to 2019, he underwent knee cartilage damage twice and, worse, a refused ankle and a broken right ankle at the end of the season.

The latter, in equality of the Europa League against the Sports CP in November 2018, was cruelly timed during the last year of his contract. He played regularly, but Arsenal released him after nine months. A move to Watford nearby the following August, designed to be repaired, only lasted 14 months.

The five years of Welbeck in Arsenal were assailed by injuries (Charlotte Wilson / Getty Images)

“It was a really difficult period for me because I had just left such a bad injury from the back,” said Welbeck. “”You don’t know if you can really play at the highest level. You do everything you can go back, talk to specialists who tell you It will not be easy, which suggests that you might no longer not play at the highest level. You have obstacles to overcome, but I had great people, great support around me – family, friends.

“They gave me the right platform to rely on, the right base, and I continued to push. It was really a case when I arrived in Brighton, I just wanted to prove that I could start playing in the Premier League at the highest level. That’s what I did and I can’t wait to do that longer. “”

Welbeck’s evolution continued since his departure from Watford by mutual consent in October 2020 and joined Brighton during a free transfer 12 days later. He initially played under Graham Potter, then Roberto de Zerbi, and now howl.

“As an attacker under Graham, he wanted much more to run deeply, he wanted me to bind the game, but higher on the field, more a target man,” said Welbeck. “”Sometimes I also played widely. At the time, we were not as at the top of the league as we are now, But we were always able to beat the biggest teams and play good things, play back.

“Then, Roberto de Zerbi came and his style, his tactic, was a more patient accumulation. We kept the ball for longer periods. It was a bit like playing with two no 10, so there is not really an attacker. A large part of your game is based on the construction game. It was an incredible experience to play for Roberto.

“Fabian is more a hybrid between the two with the accumulation, but he really wants us to attack the deep spaces, to also enter behind. It is a difference between these three managers, but I grew up and I really tried to base my game to be able to do a number of things, Not just a capacity.

Welbeck celebrates his winner in the FA Cup victory last season in Newcastle (Alex Dodd / Getty Images)

Welbeck’s standards endured – then the director of United, Erik Ten Hag, was interested in bringing him back to Old Trafford in the summer of 2023.

He entered in 2025-26 at the back of his best season for the first league goals, reaching the double figures for the first time. His count of 10 exceeded the nine he scored twice with United (2011-12 and 2013-14). Welbeck has become, in the process, the record marker of Brighton’s Premier League with 33 goals, exceeding Pascal Gross (30) and presenting its versatile attributes. He found the net 15 times for the club with his right foot, seven with his left and 11 times with his head.

The figures suggest that Welbeck is better than ever, but he disputes statistical evidence.

“I have definitely played much better, but I have the goals, so it depends on how you look at it,” he says. “”I like my team to win, so if you sometimes have to sacrifice a little individual glory to get victory, I would do with pleasure. I think it’s important in Brighton. You can’t really wear players, everyone has to be there together, and that’s how we succeed. “”

Welbeck still feels hunger and excitement to enter a new season he had when he started in United all these years ago.

“Yes, certainly,” he says. “”In summer, you are still looking for when the lights come out and you are browsing the list of devices. It’s always a huge buzz. You always really like football, you are delighted to play. I really did not ask anyone who was retired on this subject. Do you lose it? For me, it’s always strong, he’s still there.

The day will finally come when Welbeck hangs up his boots, but he doesn’t pay much attention to what’s going on. “”I don’t think about it, “he said.” It’s my life, playing football, and my job for 17 years was playing professional football, something I have the chance to do.

“I am always grateful to be in this position. I worked so hard to be here and continue as long as possible and I will do it until I don’t feel good. You must always have a plan for the future, but I still cannot determine What will be, whether to stay in football or do something completely different.

“I don’t really think at that time in time, because of the way I feel. I feel in shape, strong and I just know that it will not happen as soon as you think it’s okay. “

(Top Photo: Gareth Copley / Getty Images)