Former Portsmouth and Newcastle United favourite Matt Ritchie to retire for new Premier League role
Former Pompey winger and current Reading forward Matt Ritchie will call time on his 18-year playing career this summer.
Former Pompey favourite Matt Ritchie is set to bring his successful 18-year career to an end.
That’s according to Sky Sports News’ Mark McAdam, who has revealed the 36-year-old will hang up his boots in order to take up a new role with Bournemouth.
The winger will reportedly succeed out-going Cherries favourite Simon Francis as technical director, with the former defender poised to take up a fresh position abroad.
Ritchie is expected to fill the vacancy after the Premier League side struck an agreement with Reading to bring him back to the Vitality Stadium.
The 16-cap Scotland international, of course, enjoyed a successful three-year stay with Bournemouth, where he played a key role in their rise to the top-flight.
News of the shock move comes with the forward still holding 12 months on his current terms with the Royals.
The ex-Newcastle United man netted just one goal and collected six assists in 28 League One outings appearances for Leam Richardson’s side last term after completing a switch in August 2025.
Matt Ritchie’s career in numbers
Ritchie rose through the ranks at Fratton Park and made his Pompey debut in April 2010.
The Gosport-born talent totalled 10 first-team outings for the Blues before joining Swindon Town later that year.
After a successful spell with Bournemouth, the winger made the move to Newcastle United in 2016, where he went on to score 25 goals and collected 33 assists in 215 appearances in all competitions.
Having previously spoken of his desire to one day return to PO4, Ritchie got his wish and sealed an emotional homecoming in August 2024 following Pompey’s return to the Championship.
The ex-Dagenham and Redbridge loanee netted on five occasions and provided one assist in 41 outings for the Blues, before both parties mutually agreed to cut short his two-year deal last summer.
A frustrating stay with Reading followed and will now hang up his boots to land a new off-field role with Bournemouth.
John Mousinho on Matt Ritchie’s Pompey exit
Despite featuring 41 times for the Blues during the 2024-25 campaign, Ritchie’s PO4 exit centred around his desire to play regular football.
The head coach told The News in July 2025: ‘Probably the cat is out of the bag with Matt.
‘We had a conversation at the back end of last year and again a couple of weeks ago about Matt’s role this season and the potential for playing time. We basically ended up shaking hands and saying Matt is free to find other opportunities if available to him.
‘There's a real desire in Matt to still play and to still feature every single week in the Championship - and he was absolutely terrific for us last year in terms of everything we did to get us into the position we are in now.
‘But Matt’s expectation versus mine or versus ours as a club didn’t necessarily match up. We wanted to make sure we ended on a high and with that relationship intact, so Matt can go and explore pastures new.
‘Matt probably expected more playing time than last season. Matt is someone who is incredibly fit, incredibly ambitious, he started 28 games last season. I am pretty sure if you gave him the option, he will be ready to start 46 games the season after.
‘There’s definitely a hunger and desire there, even at Matt’s age, to play as many games as possible and we completely respect that.
‘There was no disagreement, we ended up speaking very amicably about it and that’s the best way. What we wanted to avoid is having any disagreement further down the line when games started.’
Your next Pompey read: Portsmouth rivals preparing £8m transfer swoop as Blackburn Rovers and Burnley eye defender