Ex-Tottenham man quits football at 26 for new career just months after Europa League triumph

Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman has hung up his boots at the age of 27. The decision came at the end of last season when he was just 26.

Whiteman, who was part of Ange Postecoglou's Europa League-winning squad, had been with Spurs since his youth team days before penning his first professional contract. During his tenure at Tottenham, he had two loan spells - both with Swedish outfit Degerfors - but never really managed to break into the first team and often found himself far down the pecking order.

His limited first-team action prompted him to explore other interests, including acting classes, broadcasting, and photography. According to The Athletic, he anticipated continuing his football career after being released by Spurs at the close of last season.

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However, the goalkeeper decided to retire on his own terms over the summer and is now pursuing a career in photography, confessing that he was unhappy as a professional footballer.

He shared: "I signed for Spurs at 10 years old. Then I left school at 16 and went straight into this full-time life of football.", reports the Mirror.

"When I was around 17 or 18, living in digs, I just had this feeling inside of, 'Is this it?' Getting on the mini bus, going to training, doing the Sports Science BTEC and going home to play video games. I realised, 'Oh, I'm not happy here' from quite a young age.

"The stereotype of a footballer is generally quite true. It's the golf, washbag culture. I was that young footballer. I wanted the Gucci washbag and I drove the Mercedes. You all just become a reflection of each other.

"You're a product of your environment. It's the way football is in this country; it's so shut off from anything else. You go to training and then you go home, that's it."

Whiteman further stated: "Football is a short career regardless, even if you do really well, and I knew that I didn't want to stay in it.

"It was about trying to gain experience and be proactive in learning about these things I was also interested in, but mainly because I was enjoying it, and was surrounded by the kinds of people that were doing what I enjoyed as a job.

"They were making things. It was really inspiring."