Should footballers be allowed to pursue " other business interests " whilst being contracted to a club?

[Podgeyrogers]

Should a professional footballer be allowed to partake in business activities outside of football whilst contracted to a club?

My view is not but I see more an more getting involved in other things. I get that football is a short career but shouldn't that mean they maintain complete focus on it whilst they can?

Other views greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Redouane]

An average footballer has a career span of around 8-10 years. If they don't pursue other business interests, how will they secure their financial future? Not every footballer can become a pundit or team staff after their careers end. 

 

CR7 has so many successful business ventrues, and still maintains focus. So as long as you keep the balance, i don't see what the problem is. 

[Wymsey]

Wes Morgan has a tattoo shop in Leicester somewhere, but it hasn't affected his focus much over the past year or so.

 

Paul Konchesky owns some cafe in London (?); yet still plays, albeit in non-league.

[Stadt]

How would you feel if your boss said you can't do anything that could earn you cash outside of work? 

[Podgeyrogers]

4 minutes ago, Redouane said:

An average footballer has a career span of around 8-10 years. If they don't pursue other business interests, how will they secure their financial future? Not every footballer can become a pundit or team staff after their careers end. 

 

CR7 has so many successful business ventrues, and still maintains focus. So as long as you keep the balance, i don't see what the problem is. 

CR7 is a brand and not every footballer has that pull. 

I probably didn't make myself totally clear. I'm talking Premier league standard footballers, not guys on 1 year contracts in League 2 on £800 quid a week.

If you are on £60k plus a week, do you need to be getting involved in other things? Should that £240k a month over 3/4 years not be enough to make you financially secure if you didn't manage to play again?

 

Daniel Sturridge springs to mind, barely played for his club for 2 years but has clothing lines etc. as a side line.

[Podgeyrogers]

3 minutes ago, Wookie said:

How would you feel if your boss said you can't do anything that could earn you cash outside of work? 

If it was considered a conflict to my job or could take my focus away, I'd listen.

[StanSP]

Why don't you think they should? 

Just like anyone in this world is allowed to do so when they already have a job, they're allowed to start a new venture alongside. Footballers are no different. 

As said above, fully agree that they can try and secure their financial future after a short football playing career ends not only for themselves but their family too. 

[Guest MattP]

9 minutes ago, Wookie said:

How would you feel if your boss said you can't do anything that could earn you cash outside of work? 

Mine did when I told her I was setting up my own websites.

 

Lasted about six months after that.

[Stadt]

5 minutes ago, Podgeyrogers said:

If it was considered a conflict to my job or could take my focus away, I'd listen.

So for a contrived example, your boss says you can only holiday in the U.K. from now on as it's conflicts with your job, it's not fair.

 

No employer should have much of a say in what you can and can't do in your free time

[Podgeyrogers]

11 minutes ago, Wymeswold fox said:

Wes Morgan has a tattoo shop in Leicester somewhere, but it hasn't affected his focus much over the past year or so.

 

Paul Konchesky owns some cafe in London (?); yet still plays, albeit in non-league.

Okay, a very tenuous link here. Wes Morgan buys a new Tattoo gun for his shop and want's to be the first to use it and gets a Tattoo on his leg. The guy doing it gets something wrong because it's new and Wes gets an infection and can't train or play for a week. The club are paying him and paying insurance but his outside activity was the cause of him missing training or the game. Would you not have the hump if you are paying him to be a Guinea pig in his own shop?

[Rob1742]

Unbelievable. 

 

Some footballers earn peanuts. Some footballers have short careers. To suggest footballers can't pursue other interests whilst being emplyed as a professional footballer would be wholly irresponsible.

 

What about the hundreds of footballers who have struggled to adapt to life after football? Do you suggest a footballer  cannot engage in other interests before he retires, which would make even more of them struggle to adapt? 

 

Original poster probably just fishing (hopefully), but one key issue in football is people who leave the game and have failed to adapt. They need as much help, advice as they can get. And gaining experience in the business world rather than play x box in the afternoon is one key way of helping them adapt.

 

 

[Podgeyrogers]

2 minutes ago, Wookie said:

So for a contrived example, your boss says you can only holiday in the U.K. from now on as it's conflicts with your job, it's not fair.

 

No employer should have much of a say in what you can and can't do in your free time

No, but If I was a plasterer and my boss employed me as one, the doubt would always be there if i'm doing my own work too. Materials, where did the customer come from, was it a customer asking whilst I was doing a job for my gaffer etc. etc.

[Podgeyrogers]

Just now, Rob1742 said:

Unbelievable. 

 

Some footballers earn peanuts. Some footballers have short careers. To suggest footballers can't pursue other interests whilst being emplyed as a professional footballer would be wholly irresponsible.

 

What about the hundreds of footballers who have struggled to adapt to life after football? Do you suggest a footballer  cannot engage in other interests before he retires, which would make even more of them struggle to adapt? 

 

Original poster probably just fishing (hopefully), but one key issue in football is people who leave the game and have failed to adapt. They need as much help, advice as they can get. And gaining experience in the business world rather than play x box in the afternoon is one key way of helping them adapt.

 

 

Hence why I made it clear and stated Premier league standard footballers on 3/4 year contracts!

[The Doctor]

2 minutes ago, Podgeyrogers said:

Okay, a very tenuous link here. Wes Morgan buys a new Tattoo gun for his shop and want's to be the first to use it and gets a Tattoo on his leg. The guy doing it gets something wrong because it's new and Wes gets an infection and can't train or play for a week. The club are paying him and paying insurance but his outside activity was the cause of him missing training or the game. Would you not have the hump if you are paying him to be a Guinea pig in his own shop?

That risk exists if he goes to get a tattoo elsewhere - if you're so concerned by that surely you want them to be barred from activities that could be dangerous rather than from their own business ventures 

[Rob1742]

Just now, Podgeyrogers said:

Hence why I made it clear and stated Premier league standard footballers on 3/4 year contracts!

So you are targetting the ones that are wealthy then? 

 

Other footballers are allowed to adapt to their next part of life, but those that are wealthy can't?

 

What about property? Would they not be allowed to create a property portfolio before they retired, which is a business?

 

What about investing in other businesses?

 

Again, irresponsible to suggest someone with wealth can't invest his money? 

 

 

[Stadt]

2 minutes ago, Podgeyrogers said:

No, but If I was a plasterer and my boss employed me as one, the doubt would always be there if i'm doing my own work too. Materials, where did the customer come from, was it a customer asking whilst I was doing a job for my gaffer etc. etc.

That's perfectly reasonable as there is a direct conflict between working for the employer and for yourself on the side. Whereas footballers can pursue whatever business interests they like as it doesn't conflict with their job 

[HankMarvin]

Uber drivers is fine

[Podgeyrogers]

2 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

That risk exists if he goes to get a tattoo elsewhere - if you're so concerned by that surely you want them to be barred from activities that could be dangerous rather than from their own business ventures 

Of course it does but the fact he was putting himself up for a new gun trial in his own shop with an inexperienced user of the gun makes the risk higher doesn't it?

Anyway, that was a tenuous example but the point remains the same.

I'm not looking to argue with anyone but I think if I was paying 240k a month, I'd want that person to be fully focused.

[Izzy]

2 minutes ago, Rob1742 said:

So you are targetting the ones that are wealthy then? 

 

Other footballers are allowed to adapt to their next part of life, but those that are wealthy can't?

 

What about property? Would they not be allowed to create a property portfolio before they retired, which is a business?

 

What about investing in other businesses?

 

Again, irresponsible to suggest someone with wealth can't invest his money? 

 

 

This would have been my question.

 

Lots of players invest in property while playing don't they? Robbie Fowler was buying up houses left right and center wile playing for Liverpool IIRC.

 

If there's no conflict of interest with their football, then good luck to them I say.

 

 

[The Doctor]

Just now, Podgeyrogers said:

Of course it does but the fact he was putting himself up for a new gun trial in his own shop with an inexperienced user of the gun makes the risk higher doesn't it?

Anyway, that was a tenuous example but the point remains the same.

I'm not looking to argue with anyone but I think if I was paying 240k a month, I'd want that person to be fully focused.

And you can't be fully focused and pursue something in their free time? Absolute nonsense. 

 

 

[Podgeyrogers]

3 minutes ago, Rob1742 said:

So you are targetting the ones that are wealthy then? 

 

Other footballers are allowed to adapt to their next part of life, but those that are wealthy can't?

 

What about property? Would they not be allowed to create a property portfolio before they retired, which is a business?

 

What about investing in other businesses?

 

Again, irresponsible to suggest someone with wealth can't invest his money? 

 

 

I think you are getting offended by nothing here Rob. I appreciate some people like to be offended at everything. 

Buying property isn't risking game time, buying property and working on the roof is risking gametime.

[Podgeyrogers]

2 minutes ago, The Doctor said:

And you can't be fully focused and pursue something in their free time? Absolute nonsense. 

 

 

But pursue something that risks the contract? Not nonsense at all. 

Go and tell your boss that you have got a part time job as a vodka tester in Nightclubs 5 nights a week and see how receptive he is.

[Stadt]

There's a huge difference between "being a vodka tester" and most likely paying somebody to run their business anyway. There is no conflict as long as players keep fit and eat well.

[Rob1742]

17 minutes ago, Podgeyrogers said:

I think you are getting offended by nothing here Rob. I appreciate some people like to be offended at everything. 

Buying property isn't risking game time, buying property and working on the roof is risking gametime.

 Am not offended, just think it's ridiculous. Ridiculous to the point that you are probably just fishing. 

 

If you are serious, let me know who you intend to penalise and who you don't? As in what wage level, or is it just Premier League. So those on more in the Championship are okay are they? 

 

Let me know how you would deal with the situations of the players that leave football and make a mess of their lives because they haven't been "allowed" to use their time wisely?

 

 

[Podgeyrogers]

Just now, Rob1742 said:

 Am not offended, just think it's ridiculous. Ridiculous to the point that you are probably just fishing. 

 

If you are serious, let me know who you intend to penalise and who you don't? As in what wage level, or is it just Premier League. So those on more in the Championship are okay are they? 

 

Let me know how you would deal with the situations of the players that leave football and make a mess of their lives because they haven't been "allowed" to use their time wisely?

 

 

It is any player that earns enough in the week to not need to worry about how they'll cope at 35 when it stops. 

To be frank, I would also make the working day longer for them, probably until 4.30. They wouldn't have a lot of free time then and would probably then respect the owners of their respective football clubs for the amount they get paid and not feel the need to go and design a straight peaked cap with themselves on it.

Footballers invariably make a mess of their lives because they gamble their earnings away and that stems from too much free time in my opinion.