Jeremy Mathieu swaps Champions League for customer service

Football can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams - but that wealth doesn’t always last forever.

Fame fades, contracts end, and life after the final whistle can take players down paths nobody expects. Just ask Jérémy Mathieu.

Ten years ago, he was celebrating a historic treble with Barcelona, lifting the Champions League trophy alongside Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, and Neymar. Today, the 41-year-old is going viral for something very different: working in a French sports shop.

Mathieu has become an unlikely social media sensation after being spotted wearing a staff vest in an Intersport branch near Marseille, where he helps run the football section. In a now widely-shared image, he’s seen smiling alongside two other people, his distinctive tattoo essentially confirming the surreal scene is indeed real.

Once a dependable figure in Luis Enrique’s Barça squad, now a friendly face helping customers pick out boots and kits.

The reactions have ranged from disbelief to admiration. Some assumed the photo had been doctored or AI-generated. Others flooded the store with calls, hoping to meet the former French international who once played in El Clásicos and Champions League finals.

Mathieu’s story is a reminder that football’s riches don’t always guarantee lifelong luxury. Despite a successful career that included spells with Toulouse, Valencia, Barcelona and Sporting CP 0  and over 100 games in La Liga - he’s chosen a low-key life since retiring in 2020 after a knee injury. There’s no punditry gig, no glitzy ambassador role. Instead, he’s found a different kind of fulfilment.

He’s not completely out of the game. Mathieu is still involved at a local level, turning out for Luynes Sports FC in Regional 1 and working on his coaching qualifications. But it’s his unexpected day job that has captured attention, perhaps because it flies in the face of what we expect retired footballers to do. And maybe that’s the point - not every ex-pro needs to chase the limelight. Some just want to stay close to the sport in their own way.

There’s something oddly grounding about seeing a former Champions League winner behind the counter, advising kids on shin pads. It strips football of its gloss for a moment, reminding us that when the career ends, it’s still just people - like Mathieu -figuring out what comes next.