Man Utd’s former title winner is heading a long way away from his Longsight birthplace as he is travelling 5,142 miles to keep alive his love affair with football.
The former Manchester United defender has signed for Indian Super League team Kerala Blasters.
“I just love being in a football environment, being with the lads, getting the buzz, playing. While I can still run, I will play,” Brown told MEN Sport.
Longsight-born Brown’s new adventure sparked into life when the Blasters, whose major shareholder is Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, appointed former United coach Rene Meulensteen as manager in July.
Almost immediately Sir Alex Ferguson ‘s one-time assistant was on the phone inviting 37-year-old Brown to the south west Indian coastal state of Kerala to join for the new 2017-18 season which begins in November.
Brown has not even been out to his new home in Kochi or seen the Blasters’ 61,000 capacity Jawaharlal Nehur Stadium in person but did his homework on the internet.
Brown won five Premier League titles with United and two Champions League medals before moving on to Sunderland in 2011 and spending five seasons. Last year he signed a short term contract with Blackburn Rovers until the end of the season.
Born in Longsight, Manchester, Brown began his career with Manchester United, joining the club’s academy at the age of 12 in 1992.
After turning professional in 1996, he made his senior debut in 1998 and became a regular first team player during the 1998–99 season, when the club won the Treble. After a year-long hiatus due to injury, Brown became a regular fixture in the first team from 2000 onwards. Over the next eight years, he won numerous honours, including four more Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup and another Champions League.