Which Premier League footballer has a surprise passion for another line of work…
Did you know that you had a children’s author or a fashion designer at your football club? Premier League players make an extraordinary amount of money as we all know, and many of them have found the time to invest in other ‘projects’.
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CaughtOffside counts down the weird and the wonderful talents of Premier League footballers past and present:
10) Marcus Hahnemann: Mechanic
When Hahnemann’s outside interests come up in interviews, papers often focus on his love of handguns, most probably a symptom of him being American and primarily employed to stop shots rather than fire them. However, when a fan approached him to get the number for the AA as his car had broken down, the goalkeeper told him to hop in, drove to his car and proceeded to fix it for him.
9) Javier Hernandez: Business Administrator
Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to his scouts for identifying Javier Hernandez’s talent before the 2010 World Cup, thus enabling United to buy him on the cheap. But, perhaps the reason the much-loathed Glazer family were willing to spend money on the Mexican was because they found out he was studying for a degree in business administration and wanted all the help they could get.
8) Emile Heskey: Footballer
A cheap shot, but Emile Heskey’s inadequacies, or not, as a footballer have long been discussed. There are clearly worse players in the league than Heskey, but his inability to find the net on a regular basis at Premier League level, coupled with the added attention of being an England international made him the punchline of many a joke.
7) Didier Drogba: Accountant
The Ivorian didn’t sign his first professional contract until the age of 21 and whilst playing for Le Mans studied accountancy at college. Sources conflict over whether he actually completed the course or not, but it must come in handy managing his salary.
6) Andrei Arshavin: Fashion Designer
The little Russian studied the topic in his younger days, graduating with a diploma in fashion design, having written a thesis on sportswear production. The other popular rumour is that he could have followed in the footsteps of Garry Kasparov and become a chess Grand Master, just because he’s Russian and played at the age of 7.
5) Daniel Agger: Tattooist
Hardly a surprise this one, just look at him. However, on top of having a fair share of his own ink, he is actually a qualified tattooist. In 2008-09, as Liverpool fought for the title with Manchester United, the Dane reportedly promised to ink the entire squad in commemoration of their achievements, but with Liverpool finishing second it wasn’t meant to be.
4) Stewart Downing: DJ
Downing, wouldn’t instantly strike you as the most natural exponent of the art. However, Downing told the Times that he’d played places from the Purple Onion in ‘Boro to Eden in Ibiza, admitting it was much more nerve-wracking than football. “I play Funky House and I would love to do it more.”
3) Mark Schwarzer: Children’s Author
Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer helped pen a book during his time at Middlesbrough. Schwarzer’s book, entitled Megs and the Vootball Kids, which he cowrote with a friend, was released as part of the Premier League Reading Stars initiative that saw 20 players identify their favourite books to encourage children to read.
2) Ryan Babel: Rappper
Babel’s rap career seems to have progressed better than his football since signing for Liverpool in 2007. Rapping under the name “Rio,” Babel appeared on Sway DaSafo’s ‘The Signature LP2’, alongside other artists such as Craig David, Neutrino and Jay Sean. He has also been a panel judge on Merseyside radio station Juice FM’s Next Big Urban Star competition.
1) Jody Craddock: Painter
It’s not a total escape from football and sport that Craddock seeks, as most of his painting is of sportsmen: David Beckham, Bobby Robson, Theo Walcott, and Ricky Hatton have all featured. Craddock even had a stand at the Spring Fair International at the NEC and sells his paintings at the Wolverhampton gallery for around £500.
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