There is a lot of pressure that comes with being a record-breaking signature at a football club. For example, ask Jack Grail. Once you arrive at a large price tag, your eyes will be glued to you immediately, with little room for error.
Chelsea have recently signed quite a record-breaking signature, with Enzo Fernandez currently the blues’ biggest spending. Moises Caiceto, Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz and others have been carrying all of their tags since the turn of the decade, but have rewind for nearly 40 years and things have been very different at Stamford Bridge.
In contrast to the hundreds of millions of pounds of Chelsea have been splattered by players these days, Robert Fleck arrived at the Capital Club in 1992 for a fee worth £2.1 million.
It’s safe to say he didn’t live up to the expectations that brought the club’s record price tag, as Fleck managed just three goals in 40 appearances for the West Londoners. The loan spells continued for Bolton Wanderers and Bristol City, but Fleck couldn’t wiggle the way back to Chelsea XI.
It is no surprise that by 1995 he had completely removed Chelsea’s book and returned to Norwich before reading and working just before the turn of the Millennium. An injury forced him to retire in 1999, and Fleck spent a short spell in charge of Golreston, but he quickly left the world of football completely behind and focused on his career elsewhere.
Instead, he chose to go down the route of becoming a teacher and train him as an assistant for children with complex needs. Today, the 60-year-old can teach at Norwich’s school – a far cry from the fierce world of professional soccer.
Fleck revealed the changes in his career in 2016, telling the Eastern Daily Press:
“I never thought I would work in school. I hated school. I wasn’t very good at sports, so I still learn it. It’s even better than soccer.
