Being able to play football is not enough, says Chiellini

MILAN: Italy and Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini urged players to think more about their careers after football on Wednesday as he helped launch an education campaign led by global players’ union FIFPro.

Chiellini, 34, studied for a degree in economics and a Masters in business administration at Turin University at the same time as winning seven straight Serie A titles with Juventus from 2012.

“Studying helped me relieve some of the pressure in the world of football, and kept my brain sharp,” said the Juventus captain.But only 13 percent of footballers have a higher education compared to 53 percent of men in Europe, says FIFPro.

“As a footballer, at 20 years old you feel indestructible and able to do anything in football,” said Chiellini.“But at 35 your career is more or less finished. You then have the rest of your life in front of you, and just being able to play football is not enough.

“Only a few players manage to find a job in football,”“There’s also the risk of depression, and there are many former players with financial problems because they have not thought about what they are going to do, they have not opened their minds by studying.”