Former Manchester City left-back Jeremy Helan has quit football to concentrate on religion, according to theSheffield Star.
Helan only ever made one appearance for City but after playing 100 gamesfor Sheffield Wednesday, he has taken the unusual step of walking away from the game in order to devote himself to his faith, thus surrendering the potentiallyglamorous life that comes with being a professional footballer.
The 24-year-old is a devout Muslim and has decided that his faith comes before football.
Very strange news about Jeremy Helan leaving #SWFC to devote himself to religion.
Helan struggled to fully establish himself at Sheffield Wednesday, being mainly used as a substitute by Carlos Carvalhal - he was loaned to Wolves last season.
The player was once dubbed the next Patrice Evra but things haven't fully worked out for him. According to theDaily Mail,he plans to spend his time at a mosque in Saudi Arabia.
We would like to wish Jeremy Helan all the very best as he retires from football to focus on religion #swfc pic.twitter.com/UiRLUHI1q8
They quote a source saying: "It is the talk of the dressing room. Jeremy told them what he wanted to do last week. He said that he wanted to quit for Saudi to concentrate on religion after becoming more involved at a mosque in Sheffield. The club are a bit taken aback by it. They are working with him to come to some kind of agreement."
According to that report, there areassociatesof the player who are urging him to reconsider his decision.Sheffield Wednesday have not officially confirmed anything yet.