During his career he played predominantly as a midfielder, starting off as a youth player with Manchester United before joining Crewe Alexandra when released by the Old Trafford club.

Born in Wrexham, Savage started his playing career with local sides Brickfield Rangers[3] and Lex XI.

Savage was transferred to Premier League side Leicester City managed by Martin O'Neill, for a fee of £400,000, in July 1997.

In a controversial incident, Savage made a poor tackle on Tottenham's Justin Edinburgh who retaliated by swinging his arm out.

Edinburgh was sent off for raising his arms, and although Tottenham went on to win the final, many Spurs fans still hold a grudge against Savage for the incident to this day.

When Leicester were relegated from the Premiership at the end of the 2001–02 season he transferred to newly promoted Birmingham City for a fee of £1.25 million, signing a three-year contract.

[7] At the beginning of January 2005 he submitted a written request for a transfer, allegedly wishing to be nearer his ailing parents in Wrexham.

On 19 January, he completed a move to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £3 million, having scored 11 goals in 82 league games for Birmingham.

In his first five months as a Blackburn player, Savage helped his new club to Premier League safety and reached the FA Cup Semi-final, a 3–0 loss to Arsenal in his homeland's Millennium Stadium.

In March, Savage called an end to his international career after new manager John Toshack dropped him for a World Cup 2006 qualifying game against Austria.

[21] Paul Jewell repeatedly left Savage out of the team, after Derby's poor start to the 2008–2009 season,[22] and he was replaced as captain by Alan Stubbs.

Stubbs was forced to retire shortly into the new season through injury, but Savage was not considered for the role due to not being in the first team, and the armband went to Paul Connolly.

Savage even telephoned club ambassador Alan Birchenall and former teammate Paul Dickov to put in a good word with manager Nigel Pearson.

[26] Later that month, Savage was renamed as Captain of Derby County, replacing Paul Connolly, who manager Nigel Clough wanted to "concentrate on his own game".

[32] On 16 October 2010, Savage played his 600th career match in a 3–0 victory on Preston North End, scoring an injury-time penalty to seal the win.

[34] One fan responded by telephoning Savage during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live and telling him to "leave the club now" and "take young Mr. Clough with him".

[37] In his last two games, a home loss against Bristol City and an away defeat at Reading, he was met with a round of applause and a standing ovation from both sets of supporters.

Savage attained 39 caps, scoring two goals, both in World Cup qualifying against Turkey and Norway, before retiring from international football in September 2005, saying he wished to concentrate on his club career.

Early in his international career he clashed with former Wales manager Bobby Gould when he jokingly threw a replica of Paolo Maldini's shirt into a disposal bin before a match against Italy.

[45] Fans of Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Arsenal have accused him of simulation, whether to win a set piece or to get an opponent red carded.

He received his first-ever red card when he was sent off in Wales' World Cup qualification match against Northern Ireland in September 2004 for reacting to a foul on him by midfielder Michael Hughes.

[49][50] Whilst playing for Leicester, in the final minute of a league game against rivals Derby at Pride Park in 2001, Savage dived in the penalty area.

These rumours were brought up during a phone-in on Gibson's show on the station the preceding weekend, following the Rams' 4–1 defeat at home to Scunthorpe United on 9 January.

[58] He worked in a number of different punditry roles during the 2010 FIFA World Cup before joining the presenting team for BBC Radio 5 Live's 6-0-6 show.

[69] Macclesfield owner Robert Smethurst appointed Savage as a member of the board (later director of football) with Danny Whitaker as manager.

[70] On 30 August 2021, Macclesfield defeated local rivals Congleton Town 1–0 in the NWCFL Premier Division;[71] the match was suspended for several minutes late in the second half due to crowd trouble, during which Savage intervened to break up fighting.

[77][78] On 8 December 2021, Savage provided commentary for BT Sport in the match where his son Charlie made his senior Manchester United debut in the UEFA Champions League, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 draw against Young Boys.