Sheffield Wednesday boss shares what he said to Jeremy Helan about retiring

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Carlos Carvalhal says the Frenchman has made his decision.

Carlos Carvalhal has revealed via Sheffield Wednesday’s official Facebook page that Jeremy Helan has made his decision regarding his retirement from football.

However, the Owls head coach added that Helan has not officially hung up his boots yet.

It was reported by the Sheffield Star this week that the Frenchman, who also goes by the name Mukhtar, is keen to quit the game in order to explore the Islamic faith in Saudi Arabia.

And Carvalhal revealed via Wednesday’s official Facebook page he has had no luck trying to persuade Helan to remain at Hillsborough, where his contract runs until the end of the campaign.

“It’s not official yet,” the Portuguese said. “It’s not new to me. It’s something that I talk about with him since the first day of the season. We had a long conversation. I lived before in different countries, so I understand different mentalities, I understand religious people, I understand cultures very well.

Carvalhal has previously worked in Islamic countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates

“I just said to him take some time to be sure about the decision. The last decision of him he was very, very professional, he’s a nice guy. But since the beginning of the season his head is completely out of football. Just the body was here and he tried to do the best because he’s a good guy and fantastic professional.

“We must accept the decision. I did my best to keep him in football and gave advice to him that he can prepare what he’s thinking but still play football. Like me, I was playing professionally in the first league and the same time I studied at university. The idea of Jeremy was different, he is more focused on different things.”

Helan, who was controversially signed by Manchester City as a 16-year-old, moved to Wednesday in late 2012 on an initial month-long loan deal.

The versatile left sider signed a four-year deal at Hillsborough the following summer and has gone on to feature 145 times for the Owls in total, scoring four goals.

He spent time on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers last term and has only appeared once for Carvalhal’s side this season, in August’s 2-1 EFL Cup defeat to Cambridge United.