Leon Britton has left Swansea City, quitting his role as an academy player mentor with immediate effect.
The Swans legend had held the job since October last year after returning to the club following his departure as sporting director in June, 2020. Britton, 39, made more than 500 appearances across 16 years as a Swansea player.
The news comes amid an ongoing reshuffle at the Swans, with a new academy boss set to be appointed after Kristian O'Leary left his role as under-23 boss to join Russell Martin's first-team staff.
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In a statement, he said: “I’m naturally disappointed to be stepping down from this role,” said Britton, who enjoyed a 16-year playing career with the club that amassed 537 appearances.
“But I want to spend more quality time with my family and step away from a football environment, which is always so demanding and time consuming.
“Football has been my life for the best part of 30-odd years and I feel it is the right time to focus on the things that are most important in my life.
“I love the game, everyone knows I love this club and I’ve really enjoyed spending time with our young players as well as helping Kris (O’Leary) and Wrighty (Anthony Wright) with coaching and developing the players.
“We have some really talented youngsters in our academy and you can already see that Russell Martin is willing to give players a chance at first-team level, which is great to see. I’m really looking forward to watching on as a supporter and keeping a close eye on their progress.
“I’d like to thank the club for giving me the opportunity, and I will be keeping in touch with everyone and I hope I can come back in some capacity sometime in the future.’’
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