0% Villa: Steed Malbranque retires to look after son

[PeterWithesShin]

Best wishes to Steed and his son.

http://tinyurl.com/43o9z3m 

[TheSandman]

Good on him. Best wishes to him and his son.

[Monty]

Both sad and admirable. We can only wish him well.

[VillaZogmariner]

Best Wishes

[Legion]

Both sad and admirable. We can only wish him well.

Very much so.

[brice jovial]

Touching

[TopDeck113]

No one would wish that on a child and it is a noble gesture, but I would imagine that with a couple of Premier League contracts, signing on fees, etc, behind him, plus the option for ex-pro footballers to draw their pension at, I believe, 30, makes it a rather easier decision than for your average family man with bills and a mortgage to pay were he to be tossed into the same maelstrom.   

[Shrek]

No one would wish that on a child and it is a noble gesture, but I would imagine that with a couple of Premier League contracts, signing on fees, etc, behind him, plus the option for ex-pro footballers to draw their pension at, I believe, 30, makes it a rather easier decision than for your average family man with bills and a mortgage to pay were he to be tossed into the same maelstrom.   

Totally irrelevant.

[Salsa Party Animal]

and he probably can come back in 12-18 months time for 2 more season.

Touching story.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

No one would wish that on a child and it is a noble gesture, but I would imagine that with a couple of Premier League contracts, signing on fees, etc, behind him, plus the option for ex-pro footballers to draw their pension at, I believe, 30, makes it a rather easier decision than for your average family man with bills and a mortgage to pay were he to be tossed into the same maelstrom.   

I'm sure he'd swap it all and more for the health of his son.

Good luck to him and his son.

[Legion]

and he probably can come back in 12-18 months time for 2 more season.

Don't you think he'd rather have his son alive and well?

[Louzie0]

No one would wish that on a child and it is a noble gesture, but I would imagine that with a couple of Premier League contracts, signing on fees, etc, behind him, plus the option for ex-pro footballers to draw their pension at, I believe, 30, makes it a rather easier decision than for your average family man with bills and a mortgage to pay were he to be tossed into the same maelstrom.

I don't see that he has a choice. To retire in such circumstances might be economically easier than most for the parents as you say, given Malbranque's successful career, but what a dreadful thing to happen to his family.  I'd like to wish them all the very best and his son especially.  Let's hope that the cancer has been caught early enough for interventions to make a real difference.

[TopDeck113]

No one would wish that on a child and it is a noble gesture, but I would imagine that with a couple of Premier League contracts, signing on fees, etc, behind him, plus the option for ex-pro footballers to draw their pension at, I believe, 30, makes it a rather easier decision than for your average family man with bills and a mortgage to pay were he to be tossed into the same maelstrom.   

Totally irrelevant.

It's not irrelevant.  I'm simply pointing out that by virtue of having had a lucrative career, making a decision that the vast majority of us wouldn't be able to make if the same fate was to befall our own child is not really praiseworthy. I don't dismiss the heartache and emotional turmoil he's going through, but those feelings will be no different from some anonymous parent who this evening will be keeping vigil in a child cancer ward and tomorrow will be at work to ensure there is still a roof over that child's head.

[SheffieldVillain]

Sporting Life

MALBRANQUE DISMISSES QUIT STORIES

Steed Malbranque's representatives have dismissed reports the former Fulham, Tottenham and Sunderland midfielder has retired from football to care for an ill family member.

Reports emerging from France over the weekend, and repeated in a number of British publications, claimed that the 31-year-old, who joined French outfit St Etienne this summer, had decided to quit as his young son was suffering from cancer.

But in a statement released to Press Association Sport by solicitors working on the instruction of Malbranque's agent, Sebastien Boisseau, it is made clear that the Frenchman does not have a son and that no member of his immediate family is in ill health.

"Steed has read with concern the recent stories currently circulating about him and his family," read the statement which as issued by London-based solicitors Thomas Cooper.

"He would like to reassure all of his friends in England and throughout world football that these stories are wholly without foundation.

"Steed does not have a son and his immediate family are all in good health.

"Steed does not know the origin of these stories but would like to stress that they are without merit.

"He trusts that they will now cease immediately."

Malbranque's switch to St Etienne last month ended a 10-year stay in English football, during which time he made a total of 336 Premier League appearances.

After impressing at Lyon following his debut for the club in 1998, Malbranque secured a move to Fulham in 2001 and went on to make over 200 appearances for the west London club.

Malbranque transferred to Tottenham in the summer of 2006, going on to make over 60 appearances, before joining Sunderland in 2008.

[Legion]

Oooooh!