Former Brighton and Hove Albion star Lars Dendoncker has been forced to retire from football at just 22 due to a heart condition.
The Belgian star took to Instagram to announce the news, where he wrote an emotional post.
Dendoncker said: “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 has come to a very early end.
“Because of my heart condition, I have decided to stop playing because of my own health.
“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.”
Lars Dendoncker is the younger brother of Aston Villa midfielder Leander and moved to England in 2020 to join Brighton’s youth set-up. The Belgian star went on loan to Scottish club St. Johnstone in 2021/22, where he made six appearances, before being released by the Premier League club in May last year.
The player never found a new club and has now had to cut his career short due to his health.
This is an awful decision for a young player to have to make but he will hopefully have great success in whatever he decides to do next.
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