Stevie May among string of St Johnstone departures 16 years after making debut

St Johnstone have announced that cup-winning striker Stevie May will officially depart, 16 years after making his debut for the club.

The 32-year-old striker has spent most of the past season on loan at Livingston and is one of several players who will not have his contract at Saints renewed when it expires later this month as Simo Valakari starts his squad rebuild following relegation to the Championship.

May came through the ranks with the Perth club and made his first appearance as a 16-year-old in May 2009 before developing into a key member of the first team, helping Saints win the first major trophy in their history when they landed the 2014 Scottish Cup final.

He left later that summer to join Sheffield Wednesday and after stints at Preston and Aberdeen, he returned to McDiarmid Park in 2019 and was part of the squad that won both the League Cup and Scottish Cup in 2021.

“A role model on and off the field of play, we thank Stevie greatly for everything he has done for us across both spells with the club and we wish him all the very best for his next steps in football,” read a Saints statement confirming his departure after 267 appearances for the club.

Barry Douglas, Benjamin Kimpioka, Cammy MacPherson, Graham Carey, Matthew Smith, Max Kucheriavyi and Nicky Clark will also leave Saints, while on-loan players Andy Fisher, Elliot Watt, Sam Curtis, Stephen Duke-McKenna and Zach Mitchell are set to return to their parent clubs.