Man City academy graduate quit football aged just 26 and now makes £35 million a year

A former Manchester City academy prospect who played just once for the club retired from football at the age of 26 and launched an extremely successful fashion brand.

Reece Wabara came through the ranks at City, captaining the team at youth level after moving from Walsall's school of excellence.

He made his debut for the club as a substitute on the final day of the 2010/2011 season, having signed a three-year contract.

But it was to be his only appearance for City, with Wabara having four different loans in the EFL with Ipswich Town, Oldham Athletic, Blackpool and Doncaster Rovers - who he signed for permanently in 2014.

The defender, who once scored for Oldham against Liverpool in the FA Cup, later represented Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.

But after leaving Bolton following just one appearance, Wabara retired to completely focus on the Maniere De Voir fashion brand he set up as a side project in 2013.

Reece Wabara played just once for Manchester City before launching his fashion brand. Image: Getty

Lewis Morgan, the co-founder of Gymshark, went to school with Wabara and encouraged him to make the transition. He just did just that first investing £15,000, around five weeks' wages, into the brand - which specialises in clean, premium streetwear and was set up with the intention of bridging the gap between high fashion and the high street.

"I signed to Manchester City at a transitional period, there was two or three managers in the time I was there and two or three owners too," Wabara told The Times in a 2021 interview.

"I knew my football days at City were coming to an end and my dad always taught me I needed a second option to ensure you’re relevant and financially stable.

"I founded MDV in late 2013 and launched a collection, the first clothing I produced was tracksuits, T-shirts, hoodies…I put them on the footballers that I knew and it took off.

"I kept asking, where can I maximise my potential to be great. I always had a way of dressing that was different and Lewis said to me, ‘You should do something in fashion'."

Wabara also said that he "knew the odds were heavily against me being a Champions League and England footballer" and so the back-up plan was smartly formed.

Maniere De Voir started out as a direct-to-consumer online brand but now has four shops globally, including a flagship Oxford Street London store which came a decade after its launch.

Reece Wabara's brand has gone from strength to strength. Image: Getty

MDV's products are worn by the likes of Anthony Joshua and Raheem Sterling. It turned over £1 million in revenue in its first year and its growth, which has seen an emphasis on women's clothing, became strong that it improved from £10 million to £35 million in a three-year period and had profits of £6.6 million.

Wabara was on Forbes' 30 Under 30 rich list in 2021 and ranked 19th on the Sunday Times' Young Rich List in 2023. It was said he had a net worth of £83 million, which would make him richer than every Premier League player - and that he took a salary of £150,000.

At the time, he was also estimated to have been worth more than both Harry Kane and Gareth Bale.

The business arrangement was that Wabara owned 87 per cent and Gymshark's Morgan had a small stake. That was bought out by Wabara in 2024 for around £9.4 million.

According to Wabara's social media, he is now based out in New York City, where another MDV store was launched.

In a street interview for the Venture Room, founder and CEO Wabara said, "I never really expected to get it to the point it's at but we're here now".