Parma cult hero Tomas Brolin admits he gave up on football to sell vacuum cleaners!
The Swedish great, formerly of Leeds United, played his best football in Serie A with Parma.
He recalled to La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Football was fun for me when I was a kid and a job when I got a little older.
"It was definitely an unforgettable adventure, because I won so much. In '94, I finished fourth in the Ballon d'Or, behind Stoichkov, Roberto Baggio, and Paolo Maldini. Not bad, huh?
Brolin continued: "I was honestly tired of training every day, and I had other projects buzzing around in my head. I've always been very curious. A man approached me. He was a strange character: an inventor. He proposed his new vacuum cleaner idea. I was literally drawn to it, and I started a company with him. It was the push that made me never want to return to the field again."
He added, "At the time, everyone told me that 28 was too early to retire, but I replied, 'It depends on what you've done in those 28 years.' I had accomplished a lot in my career. And life is too short to do boring things. I don't do things I don't enjoy."