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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Mark Wright sent heartbreaking message as TOWIE star's football dream comes to an end

Mark Wright's aspirations of cementing himself as a professional footballer were all but ended as Crawley Town confirmed they have released the TOWIE star.

Wright, 34, joined the League Two club last December and made two appearances, including one off the bench in the stunning FA Cup victory over Leeds United in January.

The left-back - who is married to Michelle Keegan - was previously on the academy books at West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham. He played semi-professional football before appearing on hit reality television show The Only Way Is Essex.

Wright's time with Crawley was followed by a BBC documentary, The Last Chance, which charted his attempts to revive his career.

Wright has been released by the League Two club (Neil Marshall/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)

But his efforts have proved fruitless as he was one of six players Crawley confirmed are leaving the club on Tuesday.

A statement reads: "Mark joined the Reds in December 2020, having undergone a successful trial period with the club.

"Since joining, Wright featured on two occasions for Crawley, the first coming in the Emirates FA Cup against Leeds United and the other in League action against Harrogate Town."

Josh (left) linked up with brother Mark in January (NurPhoto/PA Images)

Wright featured alongside brother Josh - a former Championship midfielder - during his cameo against Leeds after the latter joined Crawley in January.

“There just came an opportunity that maybe I felt for one reason or another that it was time was to move on,” Josh told Mirror Football of his decision to leave Leyton Orient and link up with his brother.

"The Crawley offer came on quite late really, later than the others. But once the gaffer John Yems had called me and spoken to me, plus all the other bits and bobs that needed doing, there was only one place I wanted to go to.

"Everything seemed to fit, along with the obvious with my brother being there. That wasn’t the only reason but that’s another added bonus."

Earlier this year Wright, was added to FIFA 21 as a virtual player - his first foray into being a computer game character.

He was handed an overall rating of 47 out of 100 by the game’s creators, EA Sports - the lowest figure in the Crawley squad.

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