I Was the ‘next big star’ at Man City but left and now worth £83m
Reece Wabara made his first-team debut through Manchester City’s academy but his career took a surprising turn after leaving the Etihad Stadium. He is not the only young talent who has failed to live up to expectations.
Many players come from top level academies and some even make their debut but fail to reach the required level and are relegated to lower divisions. Some will return to the top flight, but even if not, Manchester City can boast having produced first-team regulars as well as academy players who have enjoyed long Football League careers.
If you were to judge the career path of every City Academy player based on the level they reached or their future career, there would be one notable exception: Rese Wabara.
The 32-year-old billionaire turned football into fashion and has never looked back. After joining City aged 14, Wabara made his Blues debut on the final day of the 2010/11 season.
He was loaned out to Ipswich and Oldham where he led Latics under legend Paul Dyckow to a memorable FA Cup win in 2013 against a strong Liverpool side. I scored a goal. He was loaned out to Blackpool and Doncaster before City signed him. Send it to 2014.
Wabara had spells at Dickov’s Doncaster, Barnsley and Wigan. As he finished the Premier League and the Championship, something that had a profound impact on his life began to happen off the pitch.
Looking back on his football career, Wabara told CEOCAST in December 2022: “It’s my fault,” Manchester Evening News admitted. “I got complacent and couldn’t go fast enough. “It was very easy until I was 18. Then everyone caught up with me, I was the best player. You are a child. You have no idea. “You can’t go fast if you only find out it’s easy later.”
The footballer also shared his early ambitions and the realities of his career. Wabara added: “Everyone told me what a good player I would be, that I would play in England and that I would be the next right-back for Manchester City.”
“I wasn’t good enough and everyone was better than me. I have rented it several times and never delivered it, but time flies and you get the idea. “It’s only been a year and it’s over and I’m so paranoid because if I make a big mistake, I’m out.”
As his time at City came to an end and attempts to return to the first division began, Wabara also began to build his Maniere de Voir brand. With the support of school friend and founder of Gymshark, Lewis Morgan, he used his fashion sense to start a business and received a positive response to his designs from colleagues and friends in the football world.
“I played for Wigan, got promoted and was in the team of the year,” said Wabara. “One of the board members said I did a good job but thought I was too focused on the business. “When I started changing, I knew I would enter politics. I thought I couldn’t leave my future in someone else’s hands. I took the job because of an incident, and at that moment I thought, “You know, I’m done.”
“People thought I was a businessman, not a businessman. I started a clothing company and people said they wanted to be my brand. They didn’t see that it was just me as a person.
I’ve had former managers and coaches tell me they saw that in me and misunderstood me. “When I started to prove my fame, it was too late. It has to be unique from the start. It is very hard to fall and get up. In football, yes. You don’t think the people you mentioned are the best. Get down and be the best.
Wabara was released from Wigan and took a year off before returning to Bolton in February 2017. Having regained fitness, the former England Under-20 international ended the season on a high as the Trotters secured promotion.
But by then his business was booming and his passion for football was waning. Speaking on the High Performance podcast, quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Wabara said: “I decided to quit because the business was going really well and it was important to stay focused.
“I was 25, 26 years old and I had to make a choice.
What’s going to happen in the long term? Where can I become the best of the best? Unfortunately, although he was able to play in the Premier League at the time, the rate of World Cup winners becoming Champions League players was low. “We had to make the logical choice to continue the business and go as high as possible.”
Wabara hasn’t looked back since, as Manier de Voir is now making millions.
Last year he topped the Sunday Times Rich List with a fortune of £83m, more than Marcus Rashford and Stormzy. The Manchester-based company recently opened its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.
Wabara regularly uses social media to share tips, post inspirational messages and show off her purchases.
He said he doesn’t regret his football career. Given its commercial success, who can blame it? But he admits he would have done things differently if given the chance again.
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