How to Be an Ex-Footballer

Former footballers explore what to do after their careers end, discussing the challenges of transitioning from the spotlight and developing new skills. The book includes stories from entrepreneurs, artists, and others who have found new paths in life.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 25 May 2023
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Shortlisted for the Sports Entertainment Book of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards


The funniest man in British sport


Metro


Peter Crouch is a comedy genius


Daily Mail


Often recruited before they've worn long trousers, today's footballers become superstars who earn huge amounts without ever learning much about the world beyond the training ground.


Coddled by their support teams, everything is done for them. They live their lives in the glaring media spotlight, yet only really develop one life skill - how to kick a ball better.


Then inevitably, when age catches up with them or injury strikes, these man-children are thrown out into the real world, utterly defenceless apart from their multi-million-pound bank accounts.

So what do these Peter Pans, whose careers end just as most people's are getting going, do with the rest of their lives?


Crouch speaks from his own experience and discusses with fellow former professionals too - just how do you safely release a near seven-foot striker back into the wild?

Peter goes in search of the answer to what his second career might be and encounters stories far more bizarre than anything you'll find on the pitch.


From the pleasure and pain of management to the lessons we can learn from Jamie Carragher and Joe Cole on not going to seed.


From those staying in the sport - the diehard veterans, coaches, managers, owners and of course the legion of pundits, to those moving on to pastures new.

Peter talks to entrepreneurs, men of the cloth, eco warriors, artists, private detectives and budding actors, as well as those who've lost their way in addiction, crime and NFTs.


When the final whistle blows, it's still all to play for.

Weight: 214g
Dimension: 126 x 196 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529106602