For most footballers, the game is all they will ever know. From the moment a player breaks into the first team, life becomes training, travelling, matchdays and constant pressure to perform. A cycle closely followed by fans and platforms like LiveScore Bet tracking fixtures and results week after week. For years, everything revolves around the next fixture, the next contract, the next big moment.
After retirement, many former professionals move into coaching, punditry, or other club roles. But some take a different path entirely.
Some enter politics, others explore music or acting, and a few find new challenges far from stadium lights. Here are the footballers who chose something unexpected once their playing days were over.
George Weah
George Weah is one of the greatest African players of all time. He starred for Monaco, PSG and AC Milan, winning the Ballon d’Or in 1995.
After hanging up his boots, he entered politics in Liberia, using his platform to campaign for change and leadership in his country.
In 2018, he became the President of Liberia. It’s one of the highest-profile examples of a footballer moving into national politics at that level.
Eric Cantona
At Manchester United, Cantona became one of the Premier League era’s defining figures, helping the club win four league titles in five seasons. He also won two FA Cups and sparked United’s dominance throughout the 1990s.
He did move into coaching for a while, managing the France beach football team from 1997 until 2011, then had a spell with New York Cosmos from 2011 to 2012.
But his biggest surprise? Acting. Cantona has appeared in several films and TV projects in France and beyond, including Jack Says, Looking for Eric and The Salvation. He’s also featured in several Nike adverts.
Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones built his football reputation during the late 1980s and 1990s, playing for clubs including Wimbledon (as part of the Crazy Gang), Leeds United, Sheffield United and Chelsea.
After retiring, Jones made an unexpected move into acting. He has since become one of the best-known footballers to crack film and television. Starting in British crime films, he later moved into Hollywood, appearing in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and X-Men: The Last Stand.
Jones has also dabbled in other entertainment, including Celebrity X Factor and fronting his own series, Vinnie Jones in the Country.
Petr Cech
Petr Cech is best known for his time at Chelsea, where he became one of the Premier League’s greatest goalkeepers.
But before football took off, Cech actually played ice hockey as a child. The high cost of equipment meant he couldn’t continue progressing in the sport at that age, so football became the clearer option.
After retiring from professional football, Cech surprised many by reconnecting with that early passion. He returned to competitive ice hockey in the UK, playing as a goalkeeper for several semi-professional teams. It’s proof that elite athletes often find it hard to step away from sport entirely.
Gaizka Mendieta
Gaizka Mendieta made his name at Valencia, helping the club reach two consecutive Champions League finals at the start of the 2000s.
After retirement, his life took a sharp turn. Mendieta moved into music and became a DJ, performing electronic sets at small clubs and large festivals, embracing a new world away from football.