Europa League Winner With Spurs Retires at 27 to Become Photographer

A former Tottenham Hotspur player who won the UEFA Europa League last season has retired at the age of 27 to pursue a career as a photographer.

Back in May, Spurs became Europa League winners after beating fellow Premier League side Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain.

A goal from Brennan Johnson in the 42nd minute was enough to seal a 1-0 win for Ange Postecoglou's men.

Despite leading Spurs to European glory, Postecoglou was sacked due to the team's poor showing in the Premier League. Thomas Frank has since replaced the Australian.

Postecoglou wasn't the only one to leave Spurs following their Europa League win.

At the end of May, Spurs announced that goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman would leave following the expiration of his contract.

Whiteman, 27, was given a winner's medal for the Europa League as he was one of the required club-trained players in the Spurs squad.

During his time with the North London club, Whiteman failed to establish himself as a regular, making only one appearance.

After going on trial with two clubs during the summer, Whiteman has decided to make a drastic career change.

Alfie Whiteman (Far Right) was part of Spurs' Europa League winning squad. Image: Getty

He said to The Athletic: "There was a weekend when I went home, and I started contemplating all my options. I had other things I’ve been building on the side and it was more exciting to me. To put it plainly, I saw happiness in these other avenues.

"It got to this point where I’d rather end this on my terms than go to a club that I just didn’t want to go to. When I was younger, I always said I didn’t want to play in the lower leagues; it was always about the highest level. Otherwise, I’d rather do something else."

Alfie Whiteman. Image: Getty

Since evolving away from football, Whiteman has begun a photography career and was recently seen on a Nike shoot with photographer Harley Weir and British rapper Central Cee.

The 27-year-old said: "I’ve got project ideas for photo stuff and short film ideas. The plan is to do some short films, and then hopefully one day a feature-length. But there are no real strict steps. You can decide.

"I just want to be on set and work with some of the most talented cinematographers, directors of photography, producers and meet new people. There’s just so much to learn."