Premier League winner sold for £35m worked as builder in surprise career change | Football | Sport
Danny Drinkwater won the Premier League in 2016 (Image: Getty)
Former Leicester City star Danny Drinkwater decided to switch the pitch for the building site after retiring. The 34-year-old’s career has taken a surprising turn since quitting from the game in 2022. Drinkwater called time on football, having failed to get another club following a loan spell at Reading.
At one stage, Drinkwater was recognised as one of the Premier League’s finest midfielders. He enjoyed an impressive career, starting out at Manchester United before winning the Premier League with Leicester, earning three caps for England and sealing a £35million move to Chelsea. Despite once living the high life as a professional footballer, he has claimed that he “loves” being on the site, putting in the hard yards.
Drinkwater was paid £120,000 per week during his time at Stamford Bridge, yet hardly played for the Blues. He was later sent on loan to Burnley, Aston Villa, Turkish club Kasimpasa and Reading before calling it quits.
In the summer of 2024, Drinkwater took to social media to show off his new career. “On site today,” he captioned a snap showing him standing in front of scaffolding.
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His career choice prompted some negative comments. Sharing one which read “F*****g hell Danny you’ve hit rock bottom”, he replied: “Some of these messages, behave. I love being on site grafting! It’s a choice.”
Drinkwater on the site (Image: Instagram/@dannydrinkwater)
Drinkwater has been candid about his mental health struggles following retirement from football. “Anyone who thinks earning good money will solve all of your problems is not true at all,” he said last year. “Mental health is more important than physical, It was the darkest I’d ever felt.”
Speaking about his retirement on the High Performance Podcast in October, he said: “I think I’ve been in limbo for too long, I’ve either been wanting to play but not getting the opportunities to play at a level where I felt valued.
“I just thought I’m restless here for no reason, I’m happy not playing football, but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?
“It’s all I’ve known, it’s been my life since I was six or seven, it was never going to be an easy thing. I think the way it’s died down has definitely helped.
Drinkwater hit back on Instagram (Image: Instagram/Drinkwater)
“If I was playing week in, week out and had to stop through injury or age I think it would be trickier. I’ve had quite a few offers from Championship clubs, but I never felt the burn, it did nothing for me.”
In an interview with SPORTbible, Drinkwater touched on the tough times he faced, despite his status as a Premier League idol. He said: “Football has given me some absolutely great years.
“It’s also given me some s**t times but the good years definitely outweigh the bad I was able to buy my mum and dad the dream bungalow. I’ve been able to take care of my family so am I going to sit here and say football is s**t? No chance.”
