Peterborough United goalkeeper intends to quit football so he’s relieved manager Darren Ferguson no longer wants him

Irish Independent journalist Daniel McDonnell broke the news tonight (April 2) after speaking to the 25 year-old Posh player. O’Malley has already returned to Ireland with Posh’s permission and wants his contract to run out naturally in three months time rather than to be forced to hang around London Road until the 2019-20 season ends.

O’Malley is still following the training programme set down by Posh while the season is suspended, but with Christy Pym and Aaron Chapman both ahead of him in the Posh pecking order, he sees no value in returning to England.

Posh signed O’Malley from Irish League club St Patrick’s Athletic for around £100k in August 2017, but he has made just 34 first-team appearances. He hasn’t appeard for Posh since March last year and refused an emergency loan move away from London Road last month.

And now, less than two years after a call into the Ireland senior squad, O’Malley is actively seeking employment in the financial sector, the world he left behind in order to pursue a career in sport.

“I’m not in the squad, and I would be going back to Peterborough for nothing,” O’Malley said. “I would prefer to cancel my contract as normal on June 30. I’m in a different situation (to other players) as I’m not wanted.

“I was meant to go out on emergency loan and I turned it down. They (Posh) were surprised, it was a perfect move, I was going to play, but it just wasn’t what I needed at the time. I had to sort of tell them then.

“I’ve made the decision across the last year as I wasn’t enjoying it. I wasn’t really enjoying it since I went to England. When the manager changed his mind, and he didn’t want me, that was actually a relief to me and that shows I shouldn’t be playing.

“And now the coronavirus has changed everything. I’ve been reading lots of articles on the impact on investment and life insurance and pensions. Every aspect of (being an) actuary has been affected in some way.

“The League of Ireland isnt really a long term career. I would prefer to come back and take six months off.

“I might feel like I want to go back and play football then. Within a couple of months, I might be bored but whether I go back at a high level, it just depends on how I am feeling. I can have a good career doing something else. That’s what made it so easy to make the decision. If I didn’t have something to come back to, then maybe it would be different.”

O’Malley completed a maths degree in Maynooth while he was playing with St Pats and went on to gain work experience as an actuarial consultant. Even after he moved to England, he continued studying for his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) qualifications.