Ex-Barca ace shop worker after ‘better at free-kicks than Messi’ claim | Football | Sport
Having launched his career at Sochaux, Mathieu subsequently moved to Toulouse before securing a contract with Spanish club Valencia in 2009. There, he cemented his place as a key first-team figure, tallying up more than 170 appearances. In 2014, he made a surprising £15.8million move to Camp Nou and, while he was largely a squad player, Mathieu was still part of a historic treble-winning side.
Following a successful spell with Sporting CP, he was ultimately forced to retire at 36 in 2020 – and his life since has taken a rather different turn.
Last year, photographs of Mathieu working in an Intersport store near Marseille went viral. He has now spoken candidly about why he took the job at the sporting goods outlet amid a difficult mental health struggle.
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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.
The ex-France international also revealed he has battled depression. Mathieu added: “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 academy colleague at Sochaux, Loic Loval-Landre, was the one who tipped Mathieu off about the job. He said: “He knew I wanted to get out of the house a bit. I hadn’t been doing anything for a whilst. During a conversation he told me, ‘There’s a job opening up.'”
Mathieu has undergone a major transition from professional football to retail, having trained alongside footballing icon Messi less than a decade ago. The Frenchman even declared he was better than the Argentine icon when it came to set-piece situations.
“Lionel Messi was incredible,” Mathieu said. “You couldn’t do anything in training. [But] I think I was a better free-kick taker than him.”
The defender indeed possessed a formidable strike and netted numerous free-kicks throughout his career, with none more celebrated than a sublime effort against Elche in 2015.
Mathieu also remembered being recruited by manager Luis Enrique before he had even taken on the Barcelona role. He added: “[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.”
