Former Manchester United defender Brandon Williams has taken responsibility for how his career has unfolded so far, while also making it clear that he is determined to mount an impressive comeback.

A graduate of United’s renowned academy, Williams progressed through the club’s ranks before eventually breaking into the senior side under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

He made his first-team debut in September 2019, coming on as a substitute in an EFL Cup win over Rochdale, before making his first start on 3 October in the Europa League meeting with AZ Alkmaar.

Williams soon became an important part of Solskjaer’s plans, playing regularly and at times even being preferred to the more experienced Luke Shaw. In the 2019/20 season, he made 36 appearances in all competitions as the Red Devils finished third in the Premier League.

His minutes reduced after that breakthrough season, and he was later sent on loan to Norwich City. He returned to United for the 2022/23 campaign under Erik ten Hag, but made only one appearance. He was then loaned to Ipswich Town, where he linked up again with Kieran McKenna. He played a role in helping the Tractor Boys win promotion, although his involvement decreased as the season progressed.

United released Williams in the summer of 2024 after his contract expired.

What followed has been difficult, to say the least. Last year, he received a 14-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, after being found guilty of dangerous driving linked to a crash caused while he was travelling at 99mph.

There was also an unsuccessful spell at Hull City because of injuries. He is currently on trial with Rotherham United as he looks to earn a contract and rebuild his way back towards the higher levels of professional football.

Speaking to The Athletic, he admitted that he had gone through a self-destructive period. He also said his experiences should stand as a lesson for young players.

The 25-year-old said, “I’ve learned from my mistakes. I take full ownership of everything that’s happened to me. That’s why I always say to myself, ‘I got myself in this mess, I am going to get myself out of it.’”

“I’ve let a lot of people down, to be honest, and I want to prove a lot of people wrong as well. That’s one thing that is left to do in my life, to get back onto the football pitch and show what I can do.”

Speaking about his United debut, he said, “It was amazing. People always ask me, ‘Were you nervous?’. It’s hard to explain unless you experience it yourself. I never felt the pressure or felt worried, it was just excitement and the butterflies were going… because you’re asking me to go on a football pitch, something I’d done for 12 years. It was just about keeping to my game.”

Williams explained that the attention he received around the time of Covid affected him.

“I found it difficult, especially being from Manchester as well. It wasn’t just me who got affected, it was my family as well. It’s funny because we were all on our laptops on Zoom and all the players were in their big mansions with their pools and gyms and I was in my bedroom at my mum’s house, using a suitcase as a dumbbell.”

Williams said that moving out of his parents’ home to live independently turned out to be the wrong decision, as it took away the grounding presence his family had provided.

After things went downhill for him at both United and later Ipswich, Williams disclosed that United psychologist Michael Farrell got in touch in an attempt to help him find his way again.

“He would come and knock on my door in the morning, because I had an apartment in town, and he’d be like, ‘Brandon, come on, we’re going to get a coffee’, because I’d literally just be in bed all day. It helped me have that to get up and be like, ‘Come on, stop feeling sorry for yourself’”

Asked about being released by United, Williams said, “At the time I was just like, ‘Whatever, it is what it is’, but I was in a dark space. And then a couple of months passed and I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, what have I done?’. Then it hit me that was what I’d known all my life from seven years of age. It was a gutting feeling, especially when you are by yourself and you’re just thinking about it. It’s a dark place.”

“I didn’t want to play football again. It was difficult but I just knew I had to go and train for my mental side of things — I knew I had to do something. I had no plans on going back to football for that whole year. It went on until the start of the new year that I was like, ‘Right, I miss this now, I’m ready to go back, I am ready to get back into football’”

Williams admitted that his behaviour away from football, including speeding and using nitrous oxide, had been “stupid” and “immature.”

On trying to revive his football career, he told The Athletic, “I know it’s not going to be a quick process, I know I’m not going to be in the Premier League next year. I’m ready to climb the mountain and get back to the top of it.”

Williams made first-team appearances for United.