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Manchester United news: Philip Mulryne reveals he became a priest after getting bored of money and women
FORMER Manchester United midfielder Philip Mulryne has revealed he became a priest because he got bored of money and women.
In July, Northern Irishman Mulryne was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Dublin.
The 39-year-old, who once earned £600,000-a-year during his playing days, took a vow of poverty.
That means Mulryne is now living an existence that is a far cry from his days of fast cars and fast women.
After a string of injuries in 2009, Mulryne said he felt a "stirring feeling" after a year away from United in which he returned to Belfast.
Eight years on and Mulryne now plies his trade at Newbridge College, a school just under 30 miles from the Irish capital.
Speaking to , he said: “I didn’t like the trappings of being a footballer — the money, the nightclubs and the attention of women.
“While that was fine for a while, when I got to my late 20s I started to feel really dissatisfied.
“I loved the game, loved the training. The lifestyle was bringing me pleasure but nothing lasting.
“I was buying three or four cars a year because I was getting bored and always wanting more. It was the same with clothes and houses.
“I started asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ And, basically, the answer was that nothing was ever enough. I was constantly restless, born out of the fact that I thought this way of life was meant to make me happy.”
Mulryne was a product of the United youth academy and made his debut under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1997.
He only made one Premier League appearance for the Red Devils before he moved to Carrow Road.
His spell at Norwich was the best of his career, playing over 160 matches for the club during a six-year stint.
Following his time in East Anglia, he went on to play for Cardiff and Leyton Orient before a spell at non-league King’s Lynn.
He officially retired from football in 2009 and entered the Diocesan Seminary of Saint Malachy’s Belfast to begin his journey to ordination.
