Keelan Williams, the younger brother of Nottingham Forest and Wales defender Neco Williams, has retired from football at 22 because of a serious cardiac condition. In an Instagram announcement, Williams said his heart had weakened and developed heart failure after two open-heart surgeries and two pacemaker implant procedures since the start of 2025.

Williams began his development in Liverpool’s academy before joining Burnley’s youth setup at 16. He later played for Bala Town and joined Denbigh Town in 2024, making 42 appearances and scoring six goals during two years at the club.

The article’s claim that Williams joined Brighton from Club Brugge’s academy in 2020 is incorrect. There is no evidence that he played for Brighton, Club Brugge or the Premier League. He was a former Liverpool and Burnley academy defender whose senior club career was spent in Welsh football.

The claim that he played under Graham Potter at Brighton is also unsupported and should be removed. Williams was not a Brighton player, and no source links him to Potter’s Brighton squads.

Williams’ retirement statement makes clear that the decision was medical rather than related to a lack of opportunity. “The symptoms I’m experiencing on the pitch mean I can no longer play at the level I want to, and for the sake of my health, I have to put football aside,” he said.

He did not describe the retirement as necessarily permanent. “Maybe one day I’ll return, and I’ll never rule that out,” Williams added, although he said his immediate priority was his health and future.

The claim that Neco Williams has also retired at 25 is incorrect. Neco Williams remains an active Nottingham Forest and Wales player and had earned 61 Wales caps at the time of reporting.

References to Brighton’s youth system producing Declan Rice, Ben Mee and David Brooks are also inaccurate and irrelevant to Williams’ career. Rice came through West Ham’s academy, while Mee and Brooks developed elsewhere; none are established Brighton academy graduates.

Denbigh Town thanked Williams for his contribution and said the door would “forever be open” at Central Park. His retirement is a health-driven decision at 22, not the end of a Premier League career that never began.