An ex-winger said a Manchester United triple winner gave him “terrible” advice.
There are a lot of football players who would love nothing more than to score in front of a packed Old Trafford.
But for Paul McVeigh, who used to play for Tottenham and Norwich, it was just one part of his amazing life.
McVeigh, who is 46 years old, played in 20 Premier League games and scored in Norwich’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2004.
That’s not why he calls himself the “luckiest guy in the world”: he played football for 14 years and played more than 240 games for Norwich.
Instead, it’s his job since he quit playing football that makes him feel this way.
On the left side, McVeigh used to whip crosses into the box. Now, he uses motivational speaking to whip people up.
The Northern Irishman from Belfast began getting ready for life after football when he was in his 20s. He now has a Master’s degree in sports psychology.
McVeigh got his big break in football thanks to Alan Sugar, who was the owner of Tottenham at the time. He now gives performance psychology keynote talks all over the world to companies like Barclays and PWC.
“When I was 16, Alan Sugar started giving me money to play football,” McVeigh told The Mirror.
For almost 20 years, I did that.Now, some big companies pay me to talk about what I did on the pitch. It’s like, “Pinch me,” because I’ve done that for 15 years.
The Mirror says McVeigh makes a cool £15,000 an hour giving these talks. In recent speeches, he shared a stage with famous football players in Las Vegas and spent the weekend in the Middle East.
He said, “What I talk about is how to get the most out of yourself and the rules that let you do that. It always comes back to psychology and mentality.”
McVeigh’s life after football could have been very different if he had paid more attention to the “terrible” advice that Teddy Sheringham and other old Spurs players gave him.
People like Gary Mabbutt, Darren Anderton, and Nicky Barmby agreed with Sheringham that players should be careful about their futures after they retire.
They told him things like, “Play as long as you can, little man,” or “These are the best days of your life.”They seemed to be saying that the rest of my life would be bad. I will never be as successful, happy, or wealthy again.
This did not happen, of course, and McVeigh says his current job gives him the most energy of his life.
He said: “I still get a massive buzz from doing it.”For me, this is the best rush I’ve ever had at work.
But McVeigh is aware of some of his former teammates’ problems when they hang up their boots. He also doesn’t think football stars shouldn’t get special treatment.
He explained, “I understand. But what makes us unique? No, we’re not. Even though we’re good at football, why should we be treated better?”
To do this, McVeigh started a leadership course with more than 50 possible speakers, including Harry Kane, Yaya Toure, and Mo Farah.
