Footballers often comment about how difficult it is after hanging up their boots – so it’s perhaps unsurprising that several have gone on to play different sports.
Having spent 15 or more years training and playing with a big group of team-mates, it’s understandable that many footballers miss the camaraderie of the dressing room after hanging up their boots.
Losing the buzz of competition can be hard to take, too – so what better way to scratch that itch by taking up another sport? Here are some players that have done that, plus some who did it while they were still playing football.
Gareth Bale
Bale was arguably the greatest footballer in Welsh and British history, but the former Real Madrid star has turned his attention to his beloved golf since retiring at the start of 2023.
With a handicap of two, Bale is currently playing at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California, a tournament at which professional golfers play alongside celebrities.
The highlight of Bale’s first round came on the second hole when he chipped to within three feet of the hole, albeit via the kind of huge deflection that was absent from his stinging long-range howitzers.
Making an easy transition to retirement 😅@GarethBale11 revisits his impressive cart path shot from Thursday @ATTProAm. pic.twitter.com/jrjxPzK4B2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 3, 2023
Petr Cech
Cech called time on his football career at the end of the 2018-19 season, and though he returned to Chelsea as a technical and performance advisor, he clearly missed the buzz of competitive sport.
So he decided to sign for National Ice Hockey League team Guildford Phoenix – as a goaltender, of course.
Cech played ice hockey growing up and has been a fan of Guildford Flames since first arriving in England in 2004 so, even after two decades in football, it’s something of a dream come true for the 37-year-old.
“After 20 years of professional football, this is going to be a wonderful experience for me to play the game I loved to watch and play as a kid,” he said.
Paolo Maldini
Quite possibly the greatest defender of his generation, in 2017 Maldini qualified for a professional tennis tournament – the Aspria Tennis Cup, in Milan, of course, with his doubles partner and coach Stefano Landonio declaring: “He does not have any weaknesses.”
If that was the case then maybe Landonio should take the blame for the duo being beaten 6-1, 6-1 in 42 minutes.
Gabriel Batistuta
Batistuta will always be remembered…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…