The former Lazio Mendieta, here with the Barcelona shirt against Juve, is one of the founders of Player 4 Player
What happens to a footballer when the competitive career ends? Those who are capable of managing themselves with farsightedness can also do without working, given the lavish engagements that run at certain levels. Others start alternative careers as coaches, executives or television commentators, but for some it begins a real abyss, made up of unemployment and economic problems.
For this reason a group of former footballers, including the former Lazio Gaizka Mendieta, decided to give life to Player 4 Player, an organization that helps players build a future once they hang their boots. Among the co-founders there are also Emile Heskey (ex Liverpool), Michael Johnson (ex Manchester City) e Stiliyan Petrov (formerly Celtic and Aston Villa). The latter experienced firsthand how traumatic the end of the competitive experience can be: in 2012 he was negotiating his new contract with Aston Villa, when he was diagnosed with a leukemia and while he was economically calm, he was not psychologically ready to stop gambling.
Not only that, in previous years he had been impressed by the number of his colleagues anxiously awaiting payday, despite dizzying salaries. As explained to CNN by the Bulgarian, it is easy to squander pharaonic engagements: “Between mortgages, personnel to pay and … girlfriends, many are unable to save anything”. Hence the decision to become a financial consultant, to avoid those who leave football from finding themselves “begging for a job”.
The problem is also linked to training, given that for many players the career starts at a very young age and it is not easy to reconcile it with a course of study. The statistics of the FIFPro, world footballers union, show that 72% of professionals do not go beyond the Higher Diploma, while only 12% achieve one Graduation.
Yet, according to Petrov, a former player has a wealth of experience that can also be very useful behind a desk: “Leadership, communication, work culture and perseverance are qualities that are highly appreciated by companies, which look with growing interest to former players. athletes “.
And, since a career lasts on average between 10 and 15 years, designing the future becomes fundamental, because the transition from being a multi-million dollar star to end up in the middle of a road it can be a lot easier than you think.
Unfortunately, many concrete cases prove it unequivocally: look at our gallery to find out who they are!