For Sale: Scottish football’s oldest professional player swaps transfer market for property market

The career of a footballer isn’t typically a long one.

But one Scottish Cup-winning defender is still going strong in the professional game at the age of 43.

Montrose defender Seán Dillon, who is also a member of the club’s coaching staff, recently captured the record for the Scottish Professional Football League’s oldest ever outfield player.

A landmark he achieved alongside his day job, which has seen him become less involved in the transfer market and more so in the property market.

“I’ve always had an interest in properties. I’ve done some refurbs, a little bit of Airbnb,” said Seán Dillon.

“We just got chatting, me and [former teammate] Mark Whatley, he’s the boss man.

“He’s at Forfar [Athletic] at the moment. But we did play together at Montrose for a while. We kept in touch.

“He’s a good friend of mine, and we get on really well.”

Scottish Cup success

Seán Dillon is a former Dundee United captain who spent more than a decade at Tannadice, winning the 2010 Scottish Cup.

In 2017, he joined part-time side Montrose FC, who currently sit fourth in League One.

And 18 months ago, he became an estate agent at a Dundee- based agency.

“It is a bit different, but for me, the challenges are the same. I need to be disciplined, hardworking, open and honest with people, said Dillon.

“I really enjoy working with people, meeting new people all the time. I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

On the pitch, Seán Dillon has racked up more than 600 appearances in Scottish football and earlier this season broke an SPFL record held by former Hearts midfielder Colin Cameron.

“I come on against Alloa for a few minutes and then I got a phone call from the SPFL within a couple of days,” he said.

“It was a nice phone call to get. Appreciate the record is only since 2013 but it’s a record I’ll happily take.”

What do his teammates think?

Unsurprisingly, Seán Dillon is much older than most of his teammates, including two of them combined.

Fellow defenders Fraser Donaldson and Keir Bertie are aged 19 and 20 years old respectively.

And they have no doubt in their minds about Dillon’s importance to the squad.

“To be fair, he’s good. Very experienced so it helps us,” said Keir Bertie.

“It’s like he’s still a young boy, the shape he’s in, how fit he is.”

Fraser Donaldson added: “He talks all game, you can hear him. Very supportive, I enjoy playing next to him.”

Oldest ever SPFL player?

Seán Dillon has some way to go to become the SPFL’s oldest ever player, a title awarded to Stevie Dunn, who made an injury-time appearance in goal for Elgin City in 2023.

Asked whether he could possibly take that record in the future.

“Forget about it, mate,” he replied, laughing.

“Well done, Stevie. I’m enjoying what I’m doing at the moment.

“Lets see how the next few weeks go rather than the next few years.”

Seán Dillon will be looking to extend his record as the season goes on.

And with his side currently occupying a playoff spot, there’s much motivation to stay in the professional game.