Ex-Barcelona Champions League winner working as sales assistant in sportswear shop | OneFootball

Footballers have short careers, and while you often hear of stories of players fallen on hard times thereafter, increasingly there is a movement to ensure they are well taken care of by the time they decide, or are forced, to retire. However that is not the case for Jeremy Mathieu.

The former French international, who won five caps for Les Bleus, came through at Sochaux before making his name as a left-back at Toulouse. It was in Spain that his career took off though, initially at Valencia, where he switched been the left side of defence and central defence.

By the time he reached Barcelona in 2014, off the back of a €20m move, he was a vastly experienced player, and Luis Enrique anchored his defence in his first season with Mathieu, most iconic for grabbing the winner in a Clasico against Real Madrid. He would go on to win a treble that same season under the current Paris Saint-Germain coach, and would remain as long as the Asturian, leaving on a free in 2017. Joining Sporting CP, he spent the next three years in Portugal, before a final stint at lower league French side Luynes preceeding retirement two years ago in 2023.

Image via Cadena SER

Now aged 41, Mathieu has not taken the increasingly customary route into coaching or punditry, but instead has been spotted working at an Intersport in France –  a photo with two fans quickly went viral online. However ActuFoot, as referenced by Cadena SER, note that Mathieu is not working as a sales assistant out of necessity, but rather as a choice, preferring the regular routine of a job.

Mathieu won a total of 13 trophies in his career, including the Champions League, three Copas del Rey, and two Liga titles in Spain. He was also three cups in Portugal with Os Leaos, and a League Cup with Sochaux. At Valencia he made 177 appearances, scoring seven goals and giving 16 assists, while his three years in Barcelona amounted to 91 appearances, four goals and three assists.