Jeremy Mathieu has explained why he works as a shop assistant for sports chain Intersport, just five years after his retirement from professional football.
The 42-year-old former defender, who earned five caps for France between 2011 and 2016, played at Sochaux, Toulouse and Valencia before making the biggest move of his career, a €20 million switch to Barcelona.
Mathieu spent three years with the Catalan giants, lifting three Spanish Cups, two La Liga titles and a Champions League.
After leaving Barca in 2020, he joined Portuguese side Sporting CP and spent three years in the capital before announcing his retirement in 2020, after picking up a serious knee injury in training.
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“It’s tough saying goodbye like this," he said at the time. "I wanted to play one last game at home. But well, life goes on."
Not much had been written about Mathieu following his sudden retirement, but last year, he was spotted working at Intersport, a chain of sports stores in France, by a fan who proceeded to post a selfie online.
L’Equipe confirmed that Mathieu, who reportedly earned £100,000-a-week at Barcelona, was working and managing an aisle in a shop located between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille in the south of France.
Now, the former France international has spoken to beIN Sports about his decision to work at the store.
"If I'm working at Intersport, it's because something's going on that's causing me a lot of problems," he said. "I can only say that I'm in the middle of a lawsuit. I will not do it forever. It was to have a social life."
Mathieu has also been battling depression and says it is something he has not fully recovered from, as per the Telegraaf.
Loic Loval-Landre, a former teammate of Mathieu's who played for Sochaux, was able to help him find a job.
"He knew I wanted to leave the house for a bit," said Mathieu. "I had been doing nothing for a while. We were chatting, and he told me there was a vacant position."
As well as speaking about his current situation, the former Barcelona defender spoke about playing alongside one of the greatest of all time.
"Lionel Messi was incredible," he said. "In training, you couldn't do anything. However, I think I was better at free-kicks than him!"
Topics: France, Barcelona, Sporting CP, La Liga, Valencia
Jack Kenmare