The 10 Strangest Careers Footballers Have Taken After Retirement

The 10 Strangest Careers Footballers Have Taken After Retirement

Football Blog

The Wildest Career Pivots in Football History

Earlier this week, former Celtic goalkeeper and Leicester City legend Kasper Schmeichel joked that he had become a part-time Uber driver after the ending of his playing career.

Of course, the Dane was saying this in jest. An injury issue had forced an earlier end to his career than he had wanted after a poor spell in Scotland with the Glaswegian giants, and he was speaking on his life post-playing which mainly consisted of driving his kids around where they needed to go. Hence the 'Uber' remark.

But it got me thinking, nontheless. What are the strangest, most unique careers footballers have taken when their time on the field has done?

As many pros will tell you, the money will dry up and a playing career is always far shorter than they would imagine. So, when a star hangs the boots up, they need to think proactively about their next steps and what life will look like without a ball at their feet.

Many turn to punditry, some turn to coaching and management, but plenty have left the beautiful game far, far away.

From actors to farmers, these are 10 of the most unique post-career paths that footballers have taken when their playing days ceded.

Stuart Tomlinson - Professional Wrestler

Though not quite a footballing name as accustomed to the monniker of 'star' as some of the firepower on this list, Stuart Tomlinson had one of the most interesting career pivots we have ever seen from a footballer.

The 6'0 tall goalkeeper may not have been the tallest player around, but he certainly was amongst some of the biggest - his sheer width and strength made him an eye-catching talent during a respectable EFL career for the likes of Port Vale, Burton Albion and Barrow.

But in 2013, at the age of just 28, Tomlinson would retire from professional shot-stopping to take on a new adventure - professional wrestling.

Now thirteen years ago, the Cheshire-born footballer travelled all the way to Florida, USA, to be trained in the art of pro wrestling under a developmental contract with none other than the WWE. He made his debut for the company on a taping of the developmental show, NXT, a little under a year after his arrival, and wrestled for the company under the ring-name 'Hugo Knox' for a further two years before being released in 2016.

A suitable career path for a footballer nicknamed "The Tank".

Eric Cantona - Singer/Actor

Wherever Cantona stepped in his glorious career, controversy and strange moments never felt too far away. For every spectacular finish and trophy won, there was a kung-fu kick to a racist fan or a strange award acceptance speech to follow.

Since retiring, however, the iconic French forward has continued his penchant for entertaining fans and decided to channel it into creative projects, namely careers in acting and music.

The now-60-year-old has starred in a number of primarily French films and TV shows, and even released his first official song - Perfect Imperfection - back in March. We had a listen, and it is certainly one of the songs we have ever heard. He also notably starred in Liam Gallagher's music video for 'Once', which is a certified banger.

Michael Owen - Horse Racing/Reality TV

Michael Owen is the second-youngest Ballon d'Or winner ever at just 22 years old, behind R9, and the last Englishman to have won the award to date (until Harry Kane this year?) However, finishing second is not recommended in his new line of work.

The former Liverpool and England striker is the co-founder of Manor House Stables, an elite horse-training facility with Hugo Palmer at the helm.

The horses are becoming something of a family business, with Owen's daughter Gemma making her jockey debut at a charity race at Goodward in July - many will remember her starring in a series of Love Island four years ago, aged just 19, where she finished as a runner-up with partner Luca Bish, who she split with later that same year.

Back to Michael, the whole ordeal is being featured on a brand new Amazon documentary called Meet the Owens. Known for being one of the most boring pundits in all of football, it beats us what inspired Amazon to give him a fly-on-the-wall docuseries, but it is just about as pointless as you would immediately imagine.

Vinnie Jones - Actor

Perhaps the most well-known entrant onto this list, Vinnie Jones' playing days as a hard-man midfielder have translated superbly into an acting career playing similar tough-guy roles, and that career has soared to new heights this year.

The former Wimbledon and Leeds star made his acting debut in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels by Guy Ritchie in 1998, and he has appeared in several projects by the iconic director since.

However, his latest line of work with Ritchie is perhaps his most popular yet. He has featured as a main character in the smash hit Netflix series The Gentleman in both seasons of the show so far, showcasing his impressive acting chops in some fashion.

Tino Asprilla - Condoms

What?

Yes, it's true. Faustino "Tino" Asprilla is a cult hero over in Newcastle for his outlandish playing abilities and larger-than-life personality, which has carried clearly over into his post-playing career in unique fashion.

Back in 2014, he surprised fans by becoming the face of Tino Condoms, explaining at the time: “You know, sex has always been important to me. I am Asprilla: lots of sex, no rules and pure life.”

He sold a stockpile of 3.5million of the flavoured condoms back in 2020, helping to combat a global shortage of the contraception style brought on by the COVID-19 lockdown period.

Steve Lomas - Bed and Breakfast Owner

West Ham legend Steve Lomas has opted for a more low-key lifestyle since his retirement, compared to some of his fellow Premier League stars.

Anyone fancying a journey to the beautiful County Antrim coast could find themselves having breakfast served to them by the ex-Man City star.

He co-owns the 13-bed B&B Causeway Guest Accomodation, and is known to muck in with the daily running of the venue, joking: “We get a lot of visitors from Spain, Germany, America and China. I love football and it’s no hardship to talk about it, but I’m usually slaving over the stove.”

Daniel Agger - Tattoo Artist/Sewage

Former Liverpool star and Denmark captain Daniel Agger was a beloved defender and now a man of many hats, taking up two interesting careers after retiring in 2016.

The 41-year-old is a qualified tattoo artist, notably covered in ink himself, and turned his interest into a business opportunity by investing in tattoo moguls Tattoodo alongside his friends around a decade ago.

In a stanger move, the former centre-back launched a sewage management company alongside some family members back in 2013, called KloAgger.

George Weah - President

Former PSG and Milan star George Weah might just have the most high-stakes career pivot of any former footballer in this list and elsewhere, as he became the president of his home nation after his playing days concluded.

Weah, 59, remains the only Ballon d'Or winner from Africa, and made another first when he transitioned into politics and became the 25th President of Liberia in 2018.

He stayed in the role for six years, before being defeated in a re-election campaign by Joseph Boakai, who took the reins from the former striker in 2024.

Curtis Woodhouse – Boxing

Woodhouse is a player not many people would have heard of during his football career. He was a defender who would play for sides such as Sheffield United, Birmingham City and Hull City.

He was someone who loved the physical side of life, admitting he had been in countless street fights. However, football ended up being his original career path. When he was at the top of his game, he played 18 games for Hull in the Championship. However, without the fact that he would be a starter, he decided to leave the club.

He would stay around the bottom of the English pyramid for a bit. Then he made his decision to change his sport. He swapped the football field for the ring of a boxing canvas. This is where he thrived.

Woodhouse would have 29 professional boxing matches, with a record of 22 wins and seven losses. Out of those 22 wins, 13 would come through knockout. Pretty damn good for someone who picked this after a career where you can’t touch a man without giving away a foul.

He does also offer betting tips but, erm... we wouldn't bother. Stick with ours.

Fabian Barthez - Racing Driver

Goalkeepers aren't particularly known for their pace in the game, so perhaps that is why former France shot-stopper Barthez pivoted into the fast life by becoming a professional racing driver after his career ended.

The 55-year-old was capped 87 times by France through a career with the likes of Marseille, Monaco and Manchester United over the years, and called time on his career in 2007.

Rather than taking the traditional managerial or punditry route, though, Barthez left the game behind and took the wheel instead.

He started in 2008 by competing in selected events in the Porsche Carrera Cup France that same year with SOFREV Auto Sport Promotion. He raced in a number of different series across 2009, most notably the French GT Championship. In 2013, he was crowned as a champion for the series alongside Morgan Moullin-Traffort, racing in a Ferrari.

He couldn't leave the game alone for too long, though, and is now back with the French national team under Zinedine Zidane as his goalkeeper coach.

Louis Wheeldon
Louis Wheeldon Lead Writer and Editor

An avid gambler, football obsessive and loyal Nottingham Forest fan, Louis has been writing about football and wider sports since he was just 15 years old.

Armed with a Football Journalism degree from the University of Derby, he initially joined the Football Park team in April 2025 as a Freelance Writer, before quickly being offered a full-time position as the site's Lead Writer and Betting Strategist. His time working in football has taken him to every corner of the sports media landscape possible, with roles for GiveMeSport, Reach PLC and VAVEL included amongst the 15 different websites he has written for in the past, whilst his roles in club media include non-league sides Hucknall Town and Basford United - he can still be found on live radio commentary with the latter from time to time - as well as Nottingham Forest themselves.

During his tenure at GiveMeSport, Louis showcased his range by producing everything from historical deep-dives into Liverpool's greatest-ever finishers to tactical breakdowns. His expertise also extends to the betting markets, where he has provided sharp match analysis and predictions for fixtures such as England vs. Finland in the Nations League.

Louis holds a knowledge of the 92 and it's various combatants that is as varied as it is mildly concerning. He channelled this keen interest in the sport into a hopeful career in professional journalism back in 2018 with the launch of his own personal From12Yards blog whilst studying for his GCSE's, before expanding his list of clientele with articles on his beloved Nottingham Forest for a local newspaper and freelancing for different publications over a range of sports, including darts, professional wrestling, MMA, boxing and Formula 1 (he talks about Daniel Ricciardo a concerning amount).

View all articles by Louis Wheeldon →

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