Former Liverpool and Burnley academy prospect Keelan Williams has called time on his football career at the age of 22 following a diagnosis of stage one heart failure. After undergoing two open-heart surgeries and two pacemaker implants, the defender exhausted his medical options, forcing him to step away from the sport he had aimed to play professionally since childhood. Williams, who also featured for Cymru Premier side Bala Town and Cymru North club Denbigh Town, described retiring because of a cardiac condition as both sad and disappointing.
Williams began his footballing journey with local side Cefn United before entering a Liverpool satellite academy at six years old and officially signing terms at age eight. He remained on Merseyside until he was 16 before switching to Burnley, representing Welsh youth sides up to under-19 level and captaining the under-18s against England. His congenital condition—a bicuspid aortic valve where the valve features two flaps instead of three—was first discovered without symptoms during a routine Wales Under-16s screening, leading to tests at Liverpool's Broadgreen Hospital that pinpointed a valve leak.
Although he was initially able to keep playing, a routine check-up in late 2024 revealed that the leak had deteriorated and necessitated surgery. In January 2025, Williams underwent a valve-sparing aortic root replacement and dual-chamber pacemaker implantation, before complications led to an 11-day intensive care unit stay where he was treated for sepsis, a collapsed lung, and respiratory failure. He had a second operation in September 2025, but his return to action was hampered by breathlessness and heavy legs. Tests confirmed his left ventricular ejection fraction was just 37%—well adrift of the typical 50% to 70% benchmark in healthy adults. Despite taking five daily tablets and receiving an upgraded pacemaker, an echocardiogram later revealed his level had only crept up to 38%, forcing him to stop playing.
Williams credited family, friends, and the form of his older brother, Wales international Neco Williams, for helping him manage the transition away from the game. While he continues to attend heart failure, cardiology, and pacemaker clinics, Williams is now urging competitors across every level of football to seek screening independently. He warned that while top-tier teams provide routine heart check-ups, clubs operating with fewer resources might not, emphasizing that anyone in the sport should get their heart examined early to stay on the safe side.