| Jeremy Wisten died of suspected suicide after failing to cut it at Manchester City, inquest indicts City’s Academy management. (Photo credit: BBC) |
The story of Jeremy Wisten, the former Manchester City kid that committed suicide after he was released by the champions won’t just go away as inquest revealed that the Cityzens didn’t handle him well.
Jeremy Wisten suffered a serious knee injury that forced him off football for five months and he was later released at the end of the season by City, a development that was believed to contribute to the teenager taking his own life.
Wisten died at his family home on the 24th of October 2020, he joined City at the age of 13 and the injury in January of 2018 affected the central defender’s chances of mixing it with the big boys at the Etihad Stadium.
Jason Wilcox, City’s Academy director has said he most times have “sleepless nights” owing to the inevitable fact of letting academy players go, but these boys need to know that it’s not the end of the world for them but the beginning of a new journey.
“He was very quiet, very non-emotional at the time,” Wilcox said of Wisten. “All the boys react differently when they are given the news.
“They feel at that moment that their career is over, and it is certainly not. It’s the a start of a new journey for them.”
Wisten’s father, Manila, told the inquest that failing to find a new club and City’s lack of support were contributing factors in his son’s suicide.
“He personally did not believe he was receiving the right support at Manchester City to find a new club,” Manila Wisten (Deceased father) said.