Meet Ex Man United Defender Who Played in UCL Now Working As Builder

Meet Ex Man United Defender Who Played in UCL Now Working As Builder

Fred Kennedy
updated at June 14, 2023 at 12:47 PM
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  • Lee Roche had a promising football career when he was signed by Manchester United as a youngster
  • However, the former defender failed to make the grade at Old Trafford and was limited to just five appearances
  • The greatest highlight of his United career came in 2003 when he featured in a Champions League match

Lee Roche, a former Manchester United player who once played in the Champions League for the club, is now working as a builder.

The 42-year-old started his career at United as a trainee with the youth side in 1997 before he was promoted to the senior team two years later.

However, the former defender was unable to make the grade in the first team and was limited to just five appearances during his almost five years with the club.

Lee Roche in action for Manchester United during a Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruna. Photo: John Walton.
Lee Roche in action for Manchester United during a Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruna. Photo: John Walton.
Source: Getty Images

The biggest highlight of his career with the Manchester club came when he featured in one of the side's Champions League matches.

The Mirror reports that Roche was drafted into the squad in a much-changed Manchester United side that battled Deportivo La Coruna in a Champions League clash in 2003.

His appearance in the match came with the Old Trafford dwellers already assured of qualification for the next round.

Lee Roche leaves Man United

Incidentally, that was Roche's one and only appearance for United on the European stage.

His stint with the club came to an end soon after, with that marking the beginning of the end of his career.

The ex-defender joined Burnley that summer and spent two years with them before he signed for Wrexham, where he had previously had a loan spell.

However, things could not work out just yet.

The Englishman was later left with no choice but to join non-league side Droylsden, where he eventually retired.

Roche becomes a builder

With his football career failing to pan out as he may have desired, Roche transitioned into a completely different career path with no relation to the beautiful game.

Now aged 42, the former United star concedes he did not expect his football career to end as it did.

"Definitely not. Especially when you sign for a club as big as Manchester United. You think you're going to be playing football until you're 35. The way things have turned out I've had to work, I've been working here for nearly three years and it's a bit of a change from playing football but you just have to get on with it," he divulged to LFETV.

The PFA is understood to have had a hand in his career switch as it supported Roche after he left the footballing sphere.

Roche, who is now a qualified plumber with his own cavity wall insulation business, had a piece of advice for football stars.

“I have had a few fellow workers on the building sites asking me about United and how have I ended up here. It can get pretty tiresome so I don’t go shouting about that I played for United. I do think young players today should be made to train as something, so they know about the real world," Roche said as quoted by The Mirror.
“Most of them probably don’t have a plan to fall back on if they don’t make it as a professional," he added.

Ex-Chelsea star now homeless

Earlier, Sports Brief reported former Chelsea and Premier League wonderkid Jacob Mellis is reportedly homeless after his life took a sudden new twist.

Mellis had the world at his feet at a tender age as he got runouts in the Champions League while with the Blues.

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Fred Kennedy
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