‘I took free-kicks better than Lionel Messi at Barcelona – now I work in a shop’

This former Barcelona ace once claimed he could take free-kicks better than team-mate Lionel Messi, but his career trajectory has changed quite dramatically

Ex-Barcelona and France defender Jeremy Mathieu now finds himself working in retail at an Intersport shop. The 42-year-old once said he could take a free-kick better than former team-mate Lionel Messi.

Having begun his career with Sochaux, Mathieu later moved to Toulouse before penning a deal with Spanish outfit Valencia in 2009. There, he established himself as a crucial first-team player, making over 170 appearances.

In 2014, he made a shock £15.8million switch to Camp Nou and while he was more or less a fringe player, he was part of a historic treble-winning team. Yet, after a successful stint with Sporting CP, he was forced to end his career aged 36 in 2020 – and his life now looks somewhat different.

Last year, images of Mathieu working in an Intersport near Marseille went viral, and he has now made a candid admission about why he is working in the sporting goods store amid his painful mental health battle.

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“If I’m working at Intersport, it’s because something’s going on that’s causing me quite a few problems. I can only say that I’m in the middle of a lawsuit,” Mathieu told beIN Sports.

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The former France international also admitted he has suffered from depression and continued: “I tried to stay involved in football, like everyone else. In amateur football. I won’t do it (work at Intersport) forever. I do it to have a social life and see people.”

A former team-mate of his from Sochaux’s academy, Loic Loval-Landre, is the one who notified him of the position. Mathieu said: “He knew I wanted to get out of the house a bit. I hadn’t been doing anything for a while. During a conversation he told me, ‘There’s a job opening up.'”

Mathieu has endured a monumental shift from professional football to retail, as less than a decade ago he was training with footballing legend Messi. The Frenchman even once quipped he could outdo the Argentine magician when it came to set-pieces.

“Lionel Messi was incredible,” said Mathieu. “You couldn’t do anything in training. [But] I think I was a better free-kick taker than him,” he stated. The defender was adept at striking the ball to his credit and scored several free-kicks during his career, none as revered as a sumptuous goal against Elche in 2015.

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Mathieu also recalled being recruited by head coach Luis Enrique before he’d even took the Barcelona job. He stated: “[Enrique said], ‘I love how you play.’

“‘If I’m the coach, I want you on the team.’ I didn’t want to say, ‘Wait, because for now you’re not Barcelona’s coach.’ I thought, ‘Let’s see if he’s selling a dream.’

“I wanted to play. What do I do? Do I start from scratch only to be on the bench? I was hesitating. If they (Valencia) had [matched Barcelona’s contract offer], I would have stayed. They told me they couldn’t, so I left.”

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