Silvan Wallner, a 22-year-old Swiss player in the Austrian Bundesliga, shockingly announced that he has retired from playing professionally to devote his life to church.
22-year-old Swiss pro, Silvan Wallner, retires from professional soccer to devote life to church-going
Wallner, winner of the Swiss Super League with FC Zurich in 2022, ended his contract with Blau-Weiss Linz by mutual consent to put his faith and religion ahead of his soccer career.
The Switzerland youth international is a believer in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, who observe Saturday (as opposed to Sunday) as the day of rest, constantly clashing with weekly matches and training.
“I wish to follow Jesus Christ and as a result, the biblical day of rest has become important to me…as a footballer, this means that I no longer want to play professionally on Saturdays.
“This is my personal conviction, which I have reached in the last few days. I want to thank with all my heart all the officials, staff and players at Blau-Weiss Linz,” he added.
Wallner made only five appearances for Blau-Weiss Linz since signing for the club in September. He made 10 appearances with the Swiss youth national team.
