Benjamin Collett (born 11 September 1984) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

New Zealand Knights New Zealand Knights Football Club (formed from the Football Kingz Football Club in 2004) were the only professional association football club in New Zealand before they became defunct. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, they played in the A-League ...

and

AGOVV Apeldoorn AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 February 1913. The club played in professional football from 1954 to 1971 and from 2003 to 2013. AGOVV's men's first squad plays in 2024–25 in the Derde ...

. Collett joined AGOVV from now-defunct A-League club the

in 2006 after being released from

Career

Born in Bury, Greater Manchester, Collett began his football career with

, signing a trainee contract with the club in July 2001. He became a regular in the club's Under-17 side, progressing to the Under-19 team in 2002. For his performances during the 2002–03 season, Collett received the Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy#Players of the Year, Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award. The season culminated with triumph over Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough in the FA Youth Cup, in which Collett scored a goal in the first leg of the final at the Riverside Stadium. A week after the team's FA Youth Cup triumph, Collett was selected for a reserve team game against Middlesbrough on 1 May 2003. However, following a tackle by Middlesbrough's Gary Smith (footballer born 1984), Gary Smith, his leg was broken in two places and he was replaced by Kieran Richardson. The injury eventually forced Collett's retirement from football, after spells with the

and

. In May 2008, he began legal proceedings against Smith and Middlesbrough, with his solicitors (Jan Levinson and Andrew Vickerstaff) and Richard Hartley QC and Jonathan Boyle as barristers. Levinson had previously prosecuted on behalf of Gordon Watson (footballer, born 1971), Gordon Watson in the first £1 million football injury compensation claim.Injured star in pay-out battle
Manchester Evening News, 26 May 2008 The case was won in August 2008, and Collett was awarded an initial sum of £4.3 million in compensation, with the total "unlikely to be less than Pound sterling, £4.5 million". Alex Ferguson, Brian McClair, Howard Wilkinson and Gary Neville attended the hearing, where they claimed that Collett was an "A-Class" footballer and had every chance of being a first team regular at Manchester United and a household name.

Honours

Individual * Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy#Players of the Year, Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2002–03 Manchester United F.C. season, 2002–03

References

External links

The £4.3million football career that never was
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collett, Ben 1984 births Living people Footballers from Bury, Greater Manchester Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers A-League Men players AGOVV players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand Manchester United F.C. players New Zealand Knights FC players 21st-century English sportsmen