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Famous Footballers Who Worked Normal Jobs

Many famous footballers worked a normal job before having their breakout season. Some did their jobs before going professional, while others did it to supplement their income while playing non-league football. This article talks about some famous professional footballers who worked jobs before making it big.

Famous Footballers With Normal Jobs

Peter Schmeichel – Cleaner, Textiles Department, and Manager At WWF

https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/1484496245964091395

Peter Schmeichel joined Brondby in 1987. This is where his professional career took off. However, before joining them, Peter Schmeichel worked several jobs in various industries. He started out by working in the textiles department. After this, he went to clean in a care home. Schmeichel moved on from cleaning when he managed to get the job of manager at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Soon after this, he made his debut for Brondby, and the rest of his story is well known. He became a Manchester United legend, winning five Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and one Champions League trophy in his career.

Miroslav Klose – Carpenter

Credit: Reuters

Miroslav Klose is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation. However, before he became a professional footballer, his life was leaning in another direction. Klose was training as an apprentice carpenter before he became a professional footballer. The German striker has a phenomenal goal-scoring record in the World Cups, having scored 16 goals for Germany in this competition. This record still stands intact, as no one has yet beaten Klose’s record of 16 goals scored in this competition. Imagine how different his life would have been had he decided to pursue a career in carpentry instead of becoming a professional footballer.

Jamie Vardy – Carbon Fibre Medical Splint Factory Worker

https://twitter.com/JustFootball/status/1212076016283328513

Jamie Vardy is regarded as a Premier League legend by almost everyone who watches the league. He was vital in Leicester City’s historic run in the 2015/16 Premier League season, where they won the league title against all odds. However, as noticed by many already, Vardy was a late bloomer. While players his age were having their breakout seasons, he was playing non-league football. As a necessity for any non-league footballer, Vardy had to supplement his income by working a job. He worked as a technician making medical splints.

Jamie Vardy’s decision to join Leicester City in 2012, however, turned his entire life around. Little did he know that not only would he be joining a well-known team, but he would also be lifting the Premier League title with them years later. While Vardy missed out on winning the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2015/16 season, he set a much more impressive record, which is still intact to this day. He scored in 11 consecutive games between August and November 2015, a goal-scoring streak which no one has been able to beat.

Charlie Austin – Bricklayer

Credit: Evening Standard

Charlie Austin started out in Reading’s youth academy. However, he was deemed to be too small and was released by Reading at the age of 15. He then dropped to non-league football. To supplement his income, he started working as a bricklayer. This went on for a while before he got his break in 2009 when Swindon Town signed him. The footballer grew to be 6 feet 2 inches, surely not as small as Reading thought he would turn out to be.

The English striker played for various teams like Swindon Town, Burnley, Southampton, and West Bromwich Albion in his career. However, his most notable season in the Premier League came with Queens Park Rangers. He scored 18 goals in the Premier League with QPR in the 2014/15 season. What a turnaround for a player who got dropped by his academy at the age of 15 and had to work as a bricklayer to make ends meet.

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Edouard Mendy – Registered For Unemployment

https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1398753278771539972

From registering for unemployment to winning the FIFA’s Best Men’s Goalkeeper award, Edouard Mendy’s story is awe-inspiring. The player started out in the French third-tier side Cherbourg. However, in the summer of 2014, Mendy found himself without a club. He was club-less for an entire year and registered for unemployment after almost giving up on having a career as a professional footballer.

However, when his former teammate, Ted Lavie, recommended him to Marseille, he was signed by the club to serve as their fourth-choice goalkeeper. While he did not get game time at Marseille, adding this club to his CV gave him greater chances at finding a new club. This enabled him to join Reims in 2016. He performed well there and was eventually signed by Rennes in 2019. After a stellar season, he joined Chelsea, where he had the best stint of his career.

Edouard Mendy won the Champions League with Chelsea and equalled a competition record for most clean sheets kept in a single debut campaign (nine). This led him to win FIFA’s Best Men’s Goalkeeper award, a very prestigious and honourable award. The keeper currently plays for Al-Ahli Saudi FC in the Saudi Pro League.

Kieffer Moore – Lifeguard and Personal Trainer

https://twitter.com/bet365/status/1521581967673856001

Kieffer Moore is a well-known name in English and Welsh football today, but it wasn’t always like that. He played non-league football with Truro City. To supplement his income while being a non-league footballer, he used to balance his football life while working as a lifeguard and as a personal trainer.

However, he had a very prominent rise and now represents the Welsh National Team. The footballer has played in the Premier League for AFC Bournemouth. While he is currently on loan away from the club, he is still putting in good performances. He is currently on loan at Ipswich Town, which is on the brink of promotion to the Premier League. It will be another feather in his cap if he can lead Ipswich Town to promotion to the Premier League.

Rickie Lambert – Beetroot Factory Worker

https://twitter.com/FreshSaints/status/914818305885638657

Rickie Lambert started his professional football career with Blackpool. However, the club let him go in 2000. He signed with Macclesfield Town in 2001 but was not earning anything. To earn some money, he worked as a worker in a beetroot factory. Just a year later, Stockport County signed him for £300,000. After this, he had a fantastic rise, eventually joining Southampton in 2009.

Lambert had a very good stint with Southampton, with his best season coming in the 2013/14 season. This earned the footballer a move to Liverpool. From a worker in a beetroot factory to representing Liverpool, it was quite the journey for a professional footballer. Lambert even represented the English National Team. He finally decided to hang up his boots in 2017 after having had a very good professional career as a footballer.

Papiss Cisse – Ambulance Driver

Credit: Premier League

When you think of an ambulance driver, you would certainly not be imagining a 15-year-old at the helm of the vehicle. But that is exactly what Papiss Cisse’s job was when he was just 15 years old. Cisse has spoken about his time as an ambulance driver. He said:

“I saw people die in the past when I was 15 and driving the ambulance. I was only 15, which is very young, and that was why I stopped going to school because I had this job. Some times I had a little money which I gave to my parents. It was hard for me, it was very difficult for me because I was so young. My first time in the job I saw someone die and I cried but I became strong.”

Although he had quite a tough childhood, it all changed for him when he was signed by FC Metz in 2004. He stayed with the club till 2010 before joining SC Freiburg in 2010 and Newcastle United in 2012. He had his most prominent spell at Newcastle United, making 131 appearances for the club.

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