Former Newcastle United star unrecognisable from his playing days after swapping football for pulling pints

A former Newcastle United player featured in the Champions League but has since swapped football for pulling pints post-retirement.

Oliver Bernard may not be a name known by your average football fan, but to fans of the North-East club, he features as a cult hero around those parts.

The former full-back was at the club for five years and played under Sir Bobby Robson, a spell that included games in the Champions League.

However, since retiring, he's opted for a much different career path outside of football - he's now the landlord of the Mason Arms in Blyth.

He took over the Northumberland based pub with his business partner Dang Vuong back in 2020 which at the time had been closed since 2018.

During the pandemic there was a chance to make some repairs and changes before opening the bar back up after the lockdown restrictions eased.

Still keeping in touch with football, the Frenchman told The Sun that he believes that his former club will get European football but the Champions League will prove to be one step too far this season.

“We had something special and were feared - and it feels like that again now. I’m starting to see comparisons, in the way they set up and drive forward.

“This Newcastle side with a centre forward like Shearer would be top-four easily. I think we’ll finish in Europe but fall short of the Champions League this season.”

Olivier Bernard played for Newcastle for five years (Image: Alamy)

During his time at Newcastle he featured over 145 times which included eight games in the Champions League.

He then left in 2005 following a contract dispute where he joined Southampton for a short spell of only 16 games.

Following that, he ventured to Scotland but an injury hit spell only saw him stay for a season with only 14 appearances in total.

His last move was back to Newcastle before retiring in 2008.