'I took free-kicks better than Messi at Barcelona but 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.

"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 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.

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."