Alfie Whiteman was part of the Tottenham Hotspur squad that qualified for this season’s Champions League by playing in last season’s Europa League final against Manchester United.
Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman has retired from professional football. The 27-year-old made this decision at the end of last season when he was only 26 years old.
Whiteman was a member of Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League-winning side and had been with the club since the youth team just days before signing his first professional contract. During his time at Tottenham, he had two loan spells, both with Degelfors in Sweden, but he never seemed to be able to make an impact on the first team and was often found at the bottom of the pecking order.
Not being able to participate in first-team football led him to explore other areas of life, including acting classes, broadcasting, and photography. The Athletic reported that he intended to continue his football career when he was released by Spurs at the end of last season.
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However, the shot-stopper called it quits of his own accord in the summer and has now started a career as a photographer, admitting that he is not satisfied with being a professional footballer.
He said: “I signed for Spurs when I was 10 years old, then left school at 16 and went straight into full-time football.
“When I was 17 or 18 and living in a hole, I had this feeling in my head: “Is this okay?” You get in the minibus, go to training, do your Sports Science BTEC, go home and play video games.I realized from a very young age, “Oh, I’m not happy here.”
“The stereotypes about footballers in general are totally true – it’s golf and washbag culture.
“I was that young footballer who wanted a Gucci wash bag and drove a Mercedes. You are all mirrors of each other.”
“You are a product of your environment. That’s the way football is played in this country. You’re completely cut off from everything else. You go to training and go home, that’s it.”
Whiteman added: “I knew that no matter how good I did, my football career was short and I didn’t want to stay there.
“As I gained experience, I actively tried to learn about things that I was also interested in, mostly because I enjoyed them and because I was surrounded by people who were doing what I enjoyed as a career.
“They were making things. It was really exciting.”
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