General Footballers, and what about after?

bazzer9461

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Had the great pleasure of having a conversation with Les Robinson after the Mickey Lewis memorial game and I approached the question to him of what he did now, he told me he was a teacher of autistic children and thought how commendable and rewarding it must be for him.
Then I was thinking ( yes I know before anyone says anything ) about other players in L1/2 and maybe the National league and possibly lower end championship teams, what these players go on to do after retiring from football, as the average mid 30’s before they hang up there boots and with another 30 years of working life left to do?
I know some will stay in the game in some sort of capacity but there are only so many positions of that ilk.
 
If I was a championship player earning 20k a week, I would never work another day in my life!

If you do the maths, a player earning at least 20k a week at that level, playing for 10 years, would earn just under 10.5mil in their career.

Buy gold, make some sound investments with the help of a financial advisor and buy a s**t load of properties to rent out, and that passive income stream alone, will set you up for life. It’s mind boggling how many players end up skint and bankrupt.
 
If I was a championship player earning 20k a week, I would never work another day in my life!

If you do the maths, a player earning at least 20k a week at that level, playing for 10 years, would earn just under 10.5mil in their career.

Buy gold, make some sound investments with the help of a financial advisor and buy a s**t load of properties to rent out, and that passive income stream alone, will set you up for life. It’s mind boggling how many players end up skint and bankrupt.
I know am what you are saying but some championship players are on less than 10k and even though that’s half a million a season 50% will go on tax and I think it’s 11% on Ni so 20 k possibly you may not need to but 10K and under you probably would.
 
If I was a championship player earning 20k a week, I would never work another day in my life!

If you do the maths, a player earning at least 20k a week at that level, playing for 10 years, would earn just under 10.5mil in their career.

Buy gold, make some sound investments with the help of a financial advisor and buy a s**t load of properties to rent out, and that passive income stream alone, will set you up for life. It’s mind boggling how many players end up skint and bankrupt.

The issue is that a highly paid career leads to a high cost lifestyle too. A PL/Championship player won't be living in a modest, three bed semi-detached property and searching for the best insurance deals on moneysavingexpert.com, whilst saving their earnings. Many will simply spend it. Kids will go off to private school, the huge mortgage for the mega mansion will need to be paid, the keeping-up-the-Jones's attitude of needing a new motor every year or all the designer clothes. The people doing well out of it are the ones that see the footballers' coming their way. It's the same with the myth that people go to the City, earn loads and then retire at 50. Most don't as their lifestyle ensures they're locked into needing to earn more.

The sad thing is that something like 70% of footballers end up getting divorced between the ages of 35-40, as their career winds down or ends. I don't know how that compares with L1/L2 footballers who quite simply will need to have an alternative career lined up and those in the PL/Championship who think they won't but in all likelihood will. A lot more is being done for youngsters who don't make the grade and education is a much bigger part of kids at academies. More should be done for those who do make it to find out that jobs outside of the game are there for them once it comes to an end.

Former loanee Jordan Evans spoke well on the official Oxford United podcast about the transition from the game to a new profession. He's a barber now, incidentally in the same building as Mark Creighton's tattoo parlour, and admitted that his own youthful confidence saw him think that he could still make it even when turning out in front of 150 people in League of Wales games. He said that a chat with Alex MacDonald made him realise that you do need other irons in the fire once the career is over.
 
I kind of guess this ties in well.................. having a huge amount of money and an addictive personality isn`t necessarily a good mix.
 
If you consider that many of these players end up divorced, then all those earnings and investments that have been accrued can be halved. The lifestyle of a footballer, even one below the Premiership level is one that is costly to maintain, so it is little surprise that the money can quickly run out.
 
Just watched the Merson documentary on gambling, very sad to watch and included Scott Davies on his addiction driven initially by having too much spare time in the afternoons and being away from home.
As much money as some accumulate by the time they retire their is a massive void in their life they need to fill productively.
 
Just watched the Merson documentary on gambling, very sad to watch and included Scott Davies on his addiction driven initially by having too much spare time in the afternoons and being away from home.
As much money as some accumulate by the time they retire their is a massive void in their life they need to fill productively.

I do wonder if clubs could encourage professional players, not just Academy players, to look into further education or volunteering with something they are interested in.

Education, even if just courses like the Oxford Uni "Anglo-Saxon life in Oxon" type can I'm sure be fitted in. Phil Whelan and Ceri Evans (I'm sure there have been others) have demonstrated it is possible to do a degree even when playing as a pro footballer.

I appreciate education won't be an interest of every player but I reckon more would be if options were given. Maybe the club could look to a tie up with Oxford Uni or Brookes for courses.
 
I do wonder if clubs could encourage professional players, not just Academy players, to look into further education or volunteering with something they are interested in.

Education, even if just courses like the Oxford Uni "Anglo-Saxon life in Oxon" type can I'm sure be fitted in. Phil Whelan and Ceri Evans (I'm sure there have been others) have demonstrated it is possible to do a degree even when playing as a pro footballer.

I appreciate education won't be an interest of every player but I reckon more would be if options were given. Maybe the club could look to a tie up with Oxford Uni or Brookes for courses.
Footballers seem a lot more sensible and intelligent now than the classic 70s stereotypes, and some do certainly get qualifications while playing. Anecdotally I’ve read of a few setting up businesses and others teaching, eg Chris Allen taught IT skills in BBL before returning to the game.
 
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