Former Brighton & Hove Albion player Lars Dendoncker has announced his retirement from professional Football due to a heart condition
After signing a two-year contract with Brighton in 2020, the 22-year-old Belgian defender, who previously played in the academy of club Brugge, gained a reputation as a promising prospect.
He later joined Scottish premiership side St Johnston on a season-long loan in August 2021 and only featured on seven occasions for the club as he returned to Brighton in January 2022 before being released six months later.
Dendoncker wrote on his Instagram account on Thursday that he always had one dream which was to become a professional football player but his dream had come to a very early end.
“Hi everyone. Where do I start? As a child, I only had one dream. Become a professional Football player. But my professional career and dream have come to a very early end. Because of my heart condition, I have decided to stop playing for my own health,” he wrote.
“This really hurts”- Dendoncker
He admitted that it was one of the hardest decisions ever in his life that he had to make which really hurt him.
“This was and will be the hardest decision ever in my life. But there is no going back and I have to look in the future. This will take time to process. I’ve learned a lot throughout the years and had to sacrifice a lot. So this really hurts.”
He concluded by thanking all his teammates and working stuff at the three teams that he played for in his career.
“11 years at the academy of club Brugge where I made a lot of friends. 2 beautiful years with Brighton and a loan move to st Johnston where I made my professional debut. I want to thank all the players and staff that I have worked with,” he said.
Last year in October, former Brighton and Zambian captain Enock Mwepu retired from Football after he was diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition and in January he was given a coaching job at the english club.
