Former Man United player is now living a very different life after quitting football

Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland midfielder Philip Mulryne is now living a very different life after quitting football.

Mulryne came through the ranks at United from 1992 to 1996.

Between 1996 and 1999, Mulryne made one appearance in the Premier League for the Old Trafford club.

After leaving United, the midfielder went on to play for the likes of Norwich City, Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and King’s Lynn before retiring from professional football in 2008.

After retirement, most footballers would go into punditry or coaching, Mulryne however made a drastic change.

The Northern Irishman is now a priest at a church.

Speaking about his transition into priesthood, Mulryne previously said to Norwich’s official website: “It's hard to pin down a particular moment. I would say it started in my last year at Norwich, not explicitly and I wasn't thinking about it at that time but I started to get dissatisfied with the whole lifestyle.

“We have a wonderful life as a footballer and I was very privileged, but I found with all the surrounding stuff that eventually there was a kind of emptiness with it. I was quite shocked - why am I not happy when I have everything that young men want?

“It started me on a journey towards exploring my faith again, the faith that I had as a young man. I took a decision to come home for a year and it was really during that year that everything turned upside down.”

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He continued: “I volunteered at a homeless shelter for a while. I started going back to mass and I started praying again on a regular basis. I just found a real sense of fulfilment with it. Football was huge highs and lows and here was something that was giving me a steady sense of contentment.

“My vocation to priesthood and religious life came later in the course of that year - I felt this strong desire for this way of life and I stayed with it for a few months and then got the courage up to explore it and I took the decision and it's now eight years later.