Retired Footballers Embrace Unconventional Career Paths Post-Retirement

It’s no secret that a footballer’s career is short-lived, and sometimes players have been seen to pursue an entirely different passion or hobby after retirement. It’s common to see footballers take on a managerial role, a coaching role in youth development, or even have a career that ranges from football club ownership to featuring in live casino games, like David Beckham. However, there are a few odd cases of players taking on roles that are outside of the football world completely. 

Jérémy Mathieu

Mathieu, whilst not being a recognised key figure in the success of Barcelona, had one of many major honours at the Catalonian side. During his 3 year spell with the Spanish Giants, Methieu joined some of the biggest players in the club’s history, including Messi, Neymar, Suarez, Iniesta and even briefly, Carles Puyol. Despite the fact that a 5-time French international only played 62 games for the club, he scored 2 massive goals, one in El Clásico and one against Celta Vigo, which would turn out to be the winner, resulting in Barcelona’s 23rd league title, beating Real Madrid to the top spot by 2 points. This lives long in the Barcelona fan’s memories; however, Mathieu’s career took a turn for the worse in 2020 when he was forced to retire due to injury while at Sporting Lisbon. Since retiring, he has been spotted working at a sports retail company, Intersport, in Marseille as a shop assistant. 

Djibril Cissé

The French international started his career at AJ Auxerre in France, making 128 appearances, but was better known for his spells at Liverpool, Marseille, and scoring 47 goals for Panathinaikos in only 61 games. However, Cissé’s most notable achievement was in the Champions League Final in 2005, taking on Italian giants AC Milan. Liverpool made a historic comeback with arguably one of the worst sides to reach the final of the competition, coming back from 3-0 at half time and taking the game to penalties. Cissé was introduced into the game in the 85th minute for Milan Baroš and turned home the second Liverpool penalty, helping take them to European glory once again. After retirement, Cissé took up his passion for making music and his dream of becoming a DJ. While his DJ career may not be as successful as his 17-year spell as a footballer, Cissé has still managed to produce his own music and even participate in live shows.

Tomas Brolin

Tomas Brolin is regarded as a Parma legend in Italy, making 144 appearances for the club across two separate spells, while also cementing his name as a key figure in Swedish football history after winning the Euro Golden Boot in 1992. He even managed to take his international side to a World Cup 4th place finish, making him a massive name in his home country. However, after his final appearance in 1998 for Hudiksvalls A.B.K., strangely as a goalkeeper, Brolin didn’t decide to stick with his love and passion for the sport, but rather took an approach as a businessman. He has had his fair share of strange career choices post-retirement, with the likes of founding his own Italian-Swedish restaurant called Undici, venturing into real estate, and even having a go at becoming a vacuum cleaner salesman. You may think these career choices were strange enough, but Brolin has even continued his competitive nature into professional poker. He has competed in many events since 2006, including the World Series of Poker.

Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin was a big figure in the Premier League, winning the competition with Manchester United in the 1992/93 season and making appearances in the top flight for Aston Villa and Coventry City. The 4-time England international won the Premier League Golden Boot in the 1997/98 season whilst at Coventry and retired at his home town of Norwich in 2008. After retirement, Dublin took on punditry jobs and was a natural at TV presenting, leading him to a job on BBC’s Homes Under The Hammer in 2015. Homes Under The Hammer had no correlation to his previous career in football, however, the Premier League star took an interest in housing development, making this an ideal post-retirement job for the centre forward. Not only did Dublin take up a career as a presenter, but he also became an inventor of a musical instrument. The ‘Dube’ was invented by the former footballer in 2014, a hollow square box with corner panels that could be struck to make sound. This was a project of Dublin’s, as he developed the product over time with advice from big names in the music industry, taking his passion for music to a new level.

Honourable Mentions

There are plenty of footballers who have followed their love and passion for another industry, whether it be a strange diversion or not. We couldn’t possibly begin to name every single footballer whose career took a unique turn, so here are a few honourable mentions:

• Tim Wiese – WWE Wrestler
• Arjan de Zeeuw – Detective
• Lee Bowyer – Carp Fisherman
• Stuart Ripley – Solicitor
• Danniel Agger – Sewage Business Owner