Former Leeds United and Bolton Wanderers man once valued at £1m released by club in seventh tier

Murphy was once a high-profile addition at Elland Road, who tempted Leeds to fork out £1m for the first time in eight years. He joined the club from Crewe Alexandra in 2013, going on to make 111 appearances in all competitions.

Frozen out during the latter stages of his Leeds career, Murphy was loaned to Burton Albion and eventually allowed to join Bolton Wanderers on a permanent basis.

After a spell back at former club Crewe, Murphy dropped into the non-league pyramid in 2022. He was snapped up by Macclesfield, the club built from the ashes of Macclesfield Town.

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He was a key figure for the club in his maiden campaign, helping the Silkmen seal promotion from the Northern Premier League Division One West, on the eighth rung of the English football ladder.

Murphy also featured regularly during the 2023/24 campaign as Macclesfield missed out on promotion from the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The ambitious outfit have now published their retained list and confirmed Murphy will be moving on.

The 34-year-old played under another former Leeds player in Alex Bruce during his time at Macclesfield. The former defender, the son of Steve Bruce, had a spell in charge of the club before leaving for a coaching role at Salford City.