Patrick Vieira confirms retirement and takes up development role at Manchester City

Patrick Vieira, Manchester City (Getty Images)

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Patrick Vieira has hung up his playing boots to take up a role as football development executive at Manchester City, the club has confirmed.

The former French international midfielder, 35, will take on a number of responsibilities at Eastlands, including working with the club’s youth academy, community outreach, and engaging with commercial sponsors.

He will be working under the club’s chief football operations officer, Brian Marwood, who told Manchester City’s official website: “Patrick is the ultimate professional and it is our very great privilege to introduce him as our new football development executive.

“His experience in the world of football is virtually unparalleled and he will be a huge asset to our club as old and young alike benefit from his knowledge.

“Wherever he goes he commands the respect of his audience and we believe he will make an invaluable contribution to our club as we build on our recent successes.”

Vieira, who enjoyed a highly successful nine-year spell at Arsenal as well as periods at Juventus and Inter Milan before becoming Roberto Mancini’s first signing in January 2010, admitted that retiring from professional football was a bittersweet moment.

“Yes, it’s the end of my career. It’s a sad day, a sad moment, but overall I really enjoyed these last few years playing football,” he said.

“Football brought me a lot of happiness. I won trophies, I lost trophies, and I think it will be difficult for me to find another job that will give me the satisfaction that football gave me.

“But I just want to give back to football what has been given to me.

“This role is a fantastic new challenge for me and I am very grateful to Manchester City for offering me this opportunity.”

Capped over 100 times for his country, Vieira is now keen to pass on his vast experience to the younger generation.

“I will be working with the youth academy,” he said.

“They’re all talented, but I hope that I can help them to use their talent to be successful, because there’s a long way to go.

“There’s some sacrifice to be made, and some decisions, and hopefully I can help them to make the right decisions to be successful.”

He added: “I am particularly pleased to be given the opportunity to work with the club’s community scheme.

“Manchester City has a great reputation for its commitment to its community and charity partners and I believe I can help to take that message to an even greater audience.

“I have a lot to learn about the non-playing areas of the business but there are many very experienced people here for me to learn from.

“I am confident that I can make a significant contribution to the club’s ongoing success.”

Vieira helped the club to claim the FA Cup last season, the final addition to a glittering personal trophy cabinet.