Alex Gilbey said his move to Milton Keynes in 2017 was the best career decision he has made

Turning his car around and plotting a course for Milton Keynes nine years ago turned out to be the best decision Alex Gilbey has made in his career.

Heading home to Essex on transfer deadline day in 2017, the midfielder got the call from bosses at Wigan Athletic that they had accepted an offer from MK Dons - a move he believes has made him the player and the man he is today.

Last week, he made his 250th appearance for the club against bitter rivals AFC Wimbledon, but the initial decision to make the switch is one he would never change.

“It was my best football decision,” he said. “It was on deadline day, I was coming home to Essex and got told I wasn’t allowed to leave Wigan. Then I got a call to say MK Dons had had a bid accepted and would I be interested, and I was all over it! It was a mad rush to get here, doing the quickest medical in history and getting it done.

“I signed for Robbie Neilson but Pete Winkelman was there to meet me, a big bundle of energy, it was the best welcome I’ve ever had at a club - that feeling of being wanted. Pete was the one who built the foundations and made everyone fall in love with the place. Everything in the stadium was his work.”

His landmark achievement has him fifth all-time appearance maker for Dons behind some pretty big hitters. Both Darren Potter (263), also back at the club as a coach, and winger Daniel Powell (271) are within reach of the skipper, leaving only David Martin (341) and Dean Lewington (917) ahead of him.

His relationship with Lewington, the long-term skipper prior to his retirement in 2025, remained strong even during Gilbey’s three-year spell at Charlton Athletic from 2020-23. After taking over the mantle, Gilbey said Lewington’s impact played a key role in what has become the proudest moment of of the current captain’s career.

Gilbey continued: “Lewie is the best person I’ve worked with in the way he runs a dressing room, in terms of how he controls it, gets the best out of people.

“It’s not down to screaming and shouting, I don’t know how he did it. We went around and spoke to people on a level, so he was the best person I could have learned from.

“It’s an unbelievable honour to captain the club and after last year, to lead the club through a successful season is the proudest moment of my career.”