Former footballers with totally different jobs after hanging their boots

The average footballer will hang up their boots at the tender age of 35 - so what then?

Many stay in the beautiful game, managing, coaching, or on the punditry circuit, while some prefer to spend their days on the golf course.

Others, though, take a different direction, embarking on completely new careers.

Earlier this week, we told how former Everton, Real Madrid and Celtic midfielder Thomas Gravesen is now living the high life in Las Vegas after making some sound financial investments.

Here are 11 others living very different lives after hanging up their boots...

1. Jody Craddock - artist

Jody Craddock [Courtesy]

A no-nonsense centre-back, there was nothing delicate about Craddock the footballer.

But since hanging up his boots in 2013 at the age of 37, the former Wolves defender has shown himself to have a deft touch ... with a paintbrush or pencil.

Now 43, he's a professional artist, specialising in portraiture, graffiti and photorealism [Courtesy]

Now 43, he's a professional artist, specialising in portraiture, graffiti and photorealism. His work has been showcased at exhibitions in galleries.

2. Arjan de Zeeuw - detective

Arjan de Zeeuw [Courtesy]

A true professional, centre-back De Zeeuw showed incredible restraint as he refrained from retaliating after El Hadji Diouf spat in his face during a Premier League match back in 2004.

It's perhaps no surprise then that he's since pursued a career in the police force, where a calm temperament and self-control can be vital to success.

He never was your average footballer. By the time he turned professional - later than usual, at the age of 22 - he already had a medical degree.

The Dutchman had a decent career in England, playing in the Premier League for Barnsley, Wigan and Portsmouth, before a stint at Coventry.

After calling time on his playing days in 2009, he returned to the Netherlands. But faced with another seven years of studying to qualify as a doctor, he joined the fast-track policing scheme instead.

He works as a detective in the city of Alkmaar, specialising in forensic [Courtesy]

Now 48, he works as a detective in the city of Alkmaar, specialising in forensics.

3. Ramon Vega - investment banker

Ramon Vega in action [Courtesy]

Just what is it about centre-backs and new careers? Former Tottenham, Celtic and Watford stopper Vega retired from playing in 2003 and entered the cut-throat world of investment banking.

To those who knew him, it wasn't a great surprise. While playing for Grasshoppers in his native Switzerland, he achieved a degree in banking and financing.

He also completed an apprenticeship at Credit Suisse, a major bank.

In 2002, he became a founding partner of Duet Group, a hedge fund based in London.

The 47-year-old has been CEO of Vega Swiss Asset Management [Courtesy]

Since 2008, the 47-year-old - who has an office in Mayfair and speaks five languages - has been CEO of Vega Swiss Asset Management.

5. Tony Hibbert- fishing lake owner

Tony Hibbert in action [Courtesy]

When it came to scoring goals, Everton cult hero Hibbert just couldn't catch a break.

In 265 appearances for the Toffees, the right-back failed to find the net.

One thing he can catch, though, is fish.

In 2013, while still playing for Everton, he bought the 33-acre Lac de Premiere, a carp fishery in the village of Villiers-en-Prayeres, northern France.

That year, he was featured in the Angling Times after catching a whopping 42lb carp.

One thing he can catch, though, is fish [Courtesy]

Since retiring in 2016, Hibbert has devoted his time to running the facility.

5. Phillipe Albert - fruit and veg trader

Phillipe Albert in action [Courtesy]

Albert knows a few things about chips. His brilliant finish in Newcastle's 5-0 hammering of Manchester United back in 1996 was simply sublime.

These days, he's all about the potatoes. Yep, this list's answer to Mark Fowler, he's got his very own fruit and vegetable business in Belgium.

The 51-year-old also does a bit of punditry on Belgian TV.

6. Gavin Peacock - pastor

Gavin Peacock in action [Courtesy]

For the best part of a decade, it looked like Peacock's post-football career was mapped out.

One of the BBC's main pundits, he was a regular face on Football Focus and Match Of The Day.

But in 2008, the former Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle and Chelsea midfielder moved his family to Canada to study to become a minister "away from the public gaze" in Britain.

Now 50, he serves as a pastor at Calvary Grace Church in Calgary.

He serves as a pastor at Calvary Grace Church in Calgary

In 2017, he told the Mirror: “I was more nervous making my preaching debut in front of around 15 people on a Sunday evening than playing in front of 100,000 at Wembley.”

7. Frank Leboeuf - actor

Frank Leboeuf [Courtesy]

On the pitch, cultured centre-back Leboeuf was nothing like Vinnie Jones.

But after hanging up his boots in 2005, the former Chelsea man followed the hardman's lead, upping sticks to Los Angeles, to try his hand at acting.

The Frenchman, 50, even played alongside Jones for Hollywood United FC.

He's now a movie star [Courtesy]

Leboeuf, who has described movies as his "first passion", has since played a Resistance fighter in the Second World War Two film Allies and a doctor in Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory Of Everything.

8. Kevin Francis - gang squad police

Kevin Francis in action [Courtesy]

Standing 6ft 7ins tall, Francis cut an intimidating figure.

Once a striker for clubs including Stockport County and Birmingham City, he's now putting his huge frame to good use - fighting gang crime in Canada.

The former Saint Kitts & Nevis international - who was born in Birmingham - worked as a truck driver for two years after moving across the pond.

Over a decade ago, an old pal convinced him to join the police, and for the past five years he's been part of the Gang Suppression Team in Calgary.

He's a cop now [Courtesy]

Speaking to MailOnline, the 50-year-old admitted the job involved some "pretty heavy s***".

9. David Hillier - fireman

David Hillier [Courtesy]

A league winner with Arsenal in 1990, midfielder Hillier just missed the big money, and after retiring in 2003, was forced to "get out and make ends meet".

He told the Guardian how he decided to apply to become a fireman after his wife pointed out the parallels between that job about being a footballer.

Eventually, Hillier, now 48, landed a firefighting job in Bristol.

He said: "Firefighting is a team job. It's like being a footballer, but on about 100 grand a year less."

10. Tim Wiese - wrestler

Tim Wiese in action [Courtesy]

As a goalkeeper, Wiese - who was part of Germany's World Cup squad in 2010 - earned his crust throwing his massive 6ft 4ins frame around.

Life these days isn't much different - because he's a professional wrestler.

In 2016, he was invited by Triple H to train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

That same year, he made his WWE debut, teaming up with Sheamus and Cesaro to beat The Shining Stars and Bo Dallas.

Life these days isn't much different - because he's a professional wrestler [Courtesy]

But in 2017, Wiese, now 36, put his wrestling career as 'The Machine' on hold, to make a football comeback with German minor league club SSV Dillingen.