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Youth footballer awarded £4.5m after career-ending tackle

A gifted young Manchester United footballer whose career was ended by a "devastating" tackle has been awarded an unprecedented £4.5m in compensation, despite never having played a first team match.

Benjamin Collett, a gifted  Manchester United youth footballer was awarded £4.5m after career-ending tackle. Ben Collett was highly regarded at Old Trafford until he suffered a serious injury, Benjamin 23, could have enjoyed a top-class career and earned millions of pounds had his right leg not been broken in two places by the "over the ball" tackle he suffered during a reserve team game when aged 18, the High Court in London heard.

The tackle, from in a game against Middlesbrough came as a "devastating blow" to Mr Collett, who had won an award for his outstanding contribution to Manchester United's victory in the 2003 FA Youth Cup, the judge, Mrs Justice Swift said.

Describing Mr Collett as "a most impressive young man" at school and on the pitch, Mrs Justice Swift said that he had shown the ability and strength of character to play at the highest level throughout his career.

She found that Mr Collett was about be offered a three-year professional contract with Manchester United when he sustained the double leg break in May 2003.

Speaking at a previous hearing, Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, said Mr Collett, who joined the club's Youth Academy which also produced International stars David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, at the age of nine had an "outstanding chance" of becoming a top professional before he was injured.

Mrs Justice Swift said that Middlesbrough FC's parent company and Mr Smith had admitted negligence.

She awarded Mr Collett about £4.3m, including more than £4m for loss of earnings due to the premature end of his footballing career. At a hearing in October to determine Mr Collett's loss of pension and interest payments, the total is likely to rise to no less than £4.5m, she said.

Mark Gay, a leading sports lawyer from DLA Piper, said: "He's hit the jackpot, really. He was a very young player, at a very good team, with a very good prospect of becoming a top player and possibly an international player. "In terms of precedent, this sees the common law principles of personal injury applied to the football pitch. Say I was a banker earning £10m a year, and you ran me over. Your negligence would be the same as if you'd run over anyone else, but if my ability to keep earning £10m is ended, you could be left with an enormous payout.

In a statement read after the hearing, Mr Collett's solicitor, Jan Levinson, said he and his family were happy the case was coming to a close and that Ben could move on.

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