6 weirdest careers chosen by footballers after retirement from WWE to detective

Most footballers who retire from the game these days tend either to go into management, take a cosy job as a pundit or spend some well-earned time on the golf course.

Others however decide to go down a different route entirely. Some take up a completely new career far removed from the beautiful game, and often with varying success.

WWE wrestler, pancake chef (really), and tattoo artist are just some of the unusual occupations pursued by former elite level players.

With that in mind, Daily Star Sport take a look at six footballers who hung up their boots and turned their attention to something just a little bit different.

Tim Wiese – WWE

Given the amount of play acting in football these days perhaps it's no surprise that one former footballer swapped the football pitch for the wrestling ring.

Tim Wiese used to do a lot of diving around as a former goalkeeper, playing over 250 games for the likes of Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen. He even won six caps for Germany.

And after bulking up considerably, he decided to become a wrestler, signing with the world famous WWE in 2016. He made his debut in an event in Munich later that year, tag-teaming with Swiss-Irish duo Cesaro and Sheamus.

"I was a big WWE fan when I was a boy," he told AFP at the time. "I kept track of it during my football career but never thought of myself as a wrestler."

"This is Champions League. WWE is the biggest thing in wrestling, so I'm fully focused and blending out everything else around me," he added.

Do you know of any players who embarked on a strange post-football career choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Leon McKenzie and Curtis Woodhouse – Boxing

Leon McKenzie and Curtis Woodhouse both enjoyed modest football careers. The former, a Football League veteran of over 350 games, hung up his boots in 2013 after a spell with Corby Town.

Later that year he entered the ring for the first time, winning his debut bout against John Mason at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green. He retired from boxing four years later with a respectable 8-2-1 record.

Woodhouse fared slightly better. The former Sheffield United and Birmingham City player started boxing as a professional midway through his football career and went unbeaten in his first ten fights.

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At one point, he was even the British light-welterweight champion. Unfortunately he couldn't sustain that success, but still ended his 31-fight career with an impressive 24 wins (13 coming via knockout) and seven losses.

Arjan de Zeeuw – Detective

Former Wigan, Portsmouth and Barnsley defender Arjan de Zeeuw swapped collaring opposition forwards for collaring criminals after becoming a detective in his hometown of Alkmaar.

De Zeeuw spoke to the Emmerson Boyce Podcast last year about how his unusual career change came about and how the two jobs compare.

He said: "I still work with the Dutch police force, believe it not as an inspector, or detective as you call it. I realised that I loved playing football so much that I didn't not want to play it and be on the side of the pitch all the time.

"It's similar to playing football in the sense that you really depend on your colleagues. In a football team you depend on your team-mates; in the police you rely on your colleagues. It's a good togetherness, let me put it that way."

Daniel Agger – Tattoos/Sewers

No-nonsense Liverpool hero Daniel Agger was famed for making a mark and doing the dirty work during his time on Merseyside.

The much-loved Dane decided to carry on those traditions post-football by working as a tattoo artist and investing in a sewer firm.

In 2013, Agger invested a whopping £450,000 into a sewage company called 'KloAgger' that manages sewer systems in Denmark.

But don't be mistaken, the former defender's interest in the business was by no means a flash in the pan. He's still involved, although brother Marco and friend Rune Rasmussen oversee the day-to-day running of things.

That allows Agger to concentrate on his main passion – tattoos. The 36-year-old is a trained tattoo artist and a member of Tattoodo, one of the world's biggest tattoo parlours.

Clive Allen – American Football

Not many players have signed for Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. Even fewer have traded a football for an NFL pigskin. Clive Allen has done both.

Allen, a prolific goalscorer who also won six caps for England, never quite made it to the holy grail of the NFL but did briefly play for the London Monarchs in NFL Europe, which existed between 1991 and 2007.

Signed as a specialist goal kicker, the well-travelled centre-forward was successful with all four of his attempts against the Scottish Claymores at Stamford Bridge in 1997.

''The pressure situations don't bother me because I've been there before,'' he said after the match. ''The guys have helped me a lot, I've worked hard in training, and now have confidence in what I'm doing, which showed today.''

Ken Monkou – Pancake chef

Another no-nonsense defender, Dutchman Ken Monkou made a name for himself in England with Chelsea and Southampton.

After ending his playing days he wanted to indulge his passion for business so naturally bought a pancake shop in the city of Delft.

He said: "It's quite a difference, from playing to standing behind the stove flipping the pancakes. It's good, though, and for me it's sport.

"Once you're busy it gets you going, as there's only two of you in the kitchen and you're trying to make 150 pancakes a day. I don't reckon any of the present players would do it!"

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