Michael Stewart

Manchester United

As a young player, Stewart trained twice a week with Rangers while still at Craigmount High School. Manchester United signed Stewart as a professional in 1998. He made his senior debut for the club on 31 October 2000 against Watford. Later that season, it was agreed that Stewart and two other players (John O'Shea and Jimmy Davis) would be loaned to Belgian feeder club Royal Antwerp, but Stewart decided against the move, believing he would break into the first team more quickly by training with United. Initially, he filled in for a suspended Roy Keane. He struggled to hold down a first-team place, however, and had a loan spell at Nottingham Forest. His high-tempo style often included landing in trouble, regularly being booked or sent off. In the summer of 2004, United manager Alex Ferguson indicated Stewart had no future at the club and he was free to leave. Rangers initially showed interest, but after a two-week trial, he was sent back to Manchester. The cost of Stewart's contract with United was seen as a stumbling block to a transfer. A loan deal was reached with Stewart's boyhood favourites Hearts, with Stewart taking a substantial wage drop to facilitate the deal. Stewart failed to match expectations and at the end of a season disrupted by injury, Hearts allowed him to leave.

Hibernian

Desperate for continuity and regular football, Stewart expressed his wish to stay in Edinburgh and signed for Hearts' rivals Hibernian after negotiating…

Under-21

Stewart made his debut for the Scotland under-21 team in the 1−1 draw with Northern Ireland in May 2000. On 1 September, he made his competitive debut in the win against Latvia during qualification for the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He featured three more times during qualifying but Scotland failed to progress from their group. Stewart played four matches during qualification for the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, including the 1−0 win away to Germany in September 2003. Scotland ultimately qualified as group winners and progressed to the play-offs. On 16 November, he started the first leg of the play-off tie against Croatia but Scotland lost 2−0 at Stadion Varteks. Two days later, he was an unused substitute in the second leg as Scotland won 1−0 at Easter Road, but were eliminated 2−1 on aggregate. This was Stewart's last involvement with the U21s; overall he made 18 appearances and scored no goals.

B team

Stewart made his debut for the Scotland B team in November 2006 when he played the whole game against the Republic of Ireland B. The game finished 0−0 at Dalymount Park in Dublin. The following November he won a second cap in the 1−1 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Excelsior Stadium.

Senior

Stewart was first called up to the senior Scotland team by Berti Vogts in April 2002. On 17 April, he made his debut in the friendly against Nigeria; he replaced Gareth Williams in the 64th minute of the 2−1 defeat at…

Stewart has occasionally worked as a pundit for BBC Scotland, BT Sport, Premier Sports, and The Scottish Sun. He was suspended from appearing on BBC Scotland's football coverage in February 2020, following comments he made about Rangers media officer Jim Traynor. The Scottish FA banned Stewart from covering games at Hampden Park in 2026, following critical remarks about referees made by Stewart. On 31 December 2014, Stewart announced via Twitter his intention to stand for election as a Scottish National Party MP in the Edinburgh West constituency in the 2015 UK general election. Michelle Thomson won the nomination and was subsequently elected to parliament. On 11 February 2016, Stewart appeared on Thursday Focus on Man United's in-house channel MUTV discussing his life, career and politics.

Hibernian'

Scottish League Cup: 2006–07 Individual

Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year: 2000–01