These days, Premier League footballers earn the big bucks – but one ex-star now earns more money working at Aldi than he did in the top flight.
Chris Kettings hung up his gloves in 2017, swapping the pitch for the tills. The Scot, now 31, was on the books at Manchester City as a boy, before he progressed through the youth ranks at then top flight side Blackpool.
His first involvement with the Seasiders’ first team came as an unused substitute in a 1–1 home draw against Aston Villa in February 2011. He later signed a professional contract, following Blackpool’s relegation to the Championship, before making a series of loan moves.
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After spells at Birmingham, Morecambe and York, he returned to the Premier League with Crystal Palace, where he shared a dressing room with the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie. However, he failed to turn out for the Eagles in the top flight, leaving in 2016 before retiring the following year.
Always with an eye on the future, Kettings studied Business and Accounting with the Open University. And after a three-year degree he joined supermarket giants Aldi – where he signed on as a director of store operations.
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Kettings has climbed the corporate tower at the supermarket, and these days he’s their national supply chain director. According to The Sun, supply chain managers at Aldi can earn up to £94,240-per-year – more than he’d earn as Palace’s reserve keeper.
Speaking in an interview with the PFA in 2015, he said: “What I would say to other players considering education is to just go for it.
“It is a process that is very rewarding and that can open a lot of doors. Not only will it give you a Plan B in case anything goes wrong within football, it is a starter for a second career for when the day comes that you retire from the game.
“I think a lot of footballers are reluctant to explore education, because they feel once they do this they are accepting the fact that one day they will no longer be a professional footballer.”