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"Football has been my life since I was a teenage boy and it has given me so many opportunities. Above all else, I love the game and count myself very lucky to have been able to play at the highest level. While the news is devastating, I have much to be thankful for," Fabrice Muamba said as he officially announced his retirement yesterday. With his playing career now behind him, Fab now has a new worry in caring for his fiance, Shauna, and son, Joshua.
Muamba has not decided yet just what he will do in the future. Whether he will work in football at another capacity or go back to school and finish his accountancy degree is still up in the air. However, Bolton Wanderers have made it clear that they will do what it takes to take care of their man. Fabrice's options now seem to be taking an ambassadorial role with Bolton, potentially going into scouting, or beginning the journey into coaching.
As part of Bolton Wanderers' official statement on Fabrice's retirement, manager Owen Coyle said:
"We have spoken with Fab and he knows we will always support him in whatever he wants to do and that we will always be here for him.
"He is obviously massively disappointed that he won't be able to carry on his career, but everyone has seen what a fighter and strong person he is in mind and body.
"We know that he will go on to achieve great things and within all this disappointment, the most important thing is that he is here, alive, today."