Former Manchester United Midfielder Gets Officially Ordained a Roman Catholic Priest
Former Manchester United midfielder Phillip Mulryne has officially been ordained a Roman Catholic priest in the Dominican Order - a drastic change from his days as a Red Devil.
Mulryne began his career with United - making his only appearance for the club under Sir Alex Ferguson in 1997.
However, the former Republic of Ireland midfielder's most notable days as a footballer came at Norwich City; where he spent six years, accumulating 161 appearances at Carrow Road.
28 Oct 2001: Dougie Freedman of Crystal Palace tussles with Phil Mulryne of Norwich during the Crystal Palace v Norwich City Nationwide League Division One match at Selhurst Park, London. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Tom Shaw/ALLSPORT
Tom Shaw/GettyImages
However, the man who was once earning £600k-a-year has now taken a vow of poverty after being ordained as Fr Mulryne in Dublin on Saturday.
Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia made the journey from Rome to the Republic of Ireland for the ceremony, according to The Sun.
Mulryne seems to have become a changed man since his playing days - 2005 saw the now 39-year-old booted out of the Republic of Ireland national team by Lawrie Sanchez after a breach of discipline.
The midfielder mustered 27 appearances for his country for a decade between 1997 and 2007 - finding the back of the net on three occasions.
After leaving Norwich in 2005, Mulryne would only go on to make six more appearances during his professional career - despite being signed by three more teams.
After three short stints at Cardiff City, Leyton Orient and King's Lynn, Mulryne decided to hang up his boots and take up the cloth.
After studying philosophy at Queen's university in Belfast for two years, he went to the Pontifical Irish College in Rome to study theology for a further year before entering the Dominican Novitiate House in Cork in 2012.
