Seychellois international footballer Michael Mancienne to retire in 2023 due to knee injury

Mancienne played for four years at Nottingham Forest. (Wikipedia) Photo License: CC0 

Seychellois international footballer Michael Mancienne has announced his retirement from professional football after his current contract with Burton Albion in the UK's League One expires this summer.

Mancienne, 35, told SNA that he took the decision to end his career because his body is telling him it is time.

"I have been having problems with my left knee, which has been causing a lot of pain, so I don't want it to get worse, as I want to be able to run and play with my kids," he said.

The Burton Albion defender has been suffering from knee problems since July last year and was absent for three months after suffering a knee injury that needed surgery.

Mancienne, a graduate of the famous Chelsea Academy in London, has a career that spanned over two decades, playing four times for Chelsea Football Club, before making his name out on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Football League Championship.

It was at Wolves that Mancienne earned a surprise call-up to the England national team for a match against Romania.

"That was a huge achievement for me as it was not normal for a championship player to get called into the England first team," Mancienne told SNA.

Mancienne was however not involved in the match, which meant he was free to still represent Seychelles, which he did in 2022.

Aside from Chelsea and Wolves, he has played for Queens Park Rangers, Nottingham Forest and Burton Albion in England. Mancienne also played for Hamburg in Germany and New England Revolution in the United States.

"I have no regrets about my career. I have travelled the world and played against some great players," he added.

Asked if he will remain in football, Mancienne said, "I don't think I'll be a coach as it is not something I want to do, but helping young players develop on and off the pitch... I like the sound of that."

The 35-year-old owns a property company and he said he will continue to keep a healthy lifestyle and will be building some houses.

He will end his career after having played over 360 games in his career and was even named Chelsea's Young Player of the Year in 2009.

Mancienne has played five times for Seychelles, scoring his one and only international goal from the penalty spot against Bangladesh in March 2023.

His current team, Burton Albion, finished the 2022/23 League One season in 15th place.