Life outside of the pitch has proven to be a rather difficult one for many of Manchester United’s former stars.
While Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville have drifted away from management after some pretty high profile setbacks, another of the Red Devils’ former Premier League winners is taking a very different route post-retirement.
Anders Lindegaard, part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s last title-claiming team, announced back in 2022 that he had played his final game in the professional sphere.
But in an era while most tend to drift towards a few distinct roles – management, punditry, and perhaps even YouTube for those with the gift of the gab – the now-40-year-old former goalkeeper is keen to make use of the lessons he learned at the top level of football in an all-new environment.
Lindegaard, who spent five years at Manchester United until joining West Brom in 2015, has announced that he is beginning the second phase of his career as a business developer at Swiss based financial experts UBS.
Former Manchester United ace Anders Lindegaard leaves football for finance
“New beginnings, new job, new career,” Lindegaard writes on LinkedIn.
“I’ve started a position as a business developer at UBS. My role is to help the bank better understand successful athletes and offer them a meaningful and valuable service from the leading wealth manager.
“I’ll always be an athlete by nature. Helping other athletes navigate through their sports adventure seems both natural and meaningful to me. In that sense, I see myself and my role as being hired by UBS but working for the athletes.”
Lindegaard joined Man United back in 2010 from Aalesund in his native Denmark.
Speaking to The Guardian, the former Danish international recalls Celtic, Ajax, Arsenal and even Bayern Munich showing an interest around the same time. The chance to follow in the footsteps of Peter Schmeichel was one Lindegaard could not turn down.
14 years on, Lindegaard’s new role sees him swap his gloves for a ballpoint pen, the net for a spreadsheet. Football for finance.
“For me personally, this is the start of a second career,” adds the former Burnley and Preston North End stopper. “I always wanted to stay within football, but I didn’t want to work inside the lines of the pitch. I’ve done that my whole life, and it seems timely for me to try something new.
“Everything is very new, and everything is very exciting.
“Retirement from professional sports isn’t easy. It’s, without a doubt, a high-risk moment in any athlete’s life. I’m proud to have made what, to me, is a successful transition – at least so far. And I’m relieved I’ve developed Anders Lindegaard 2.0.”
Lindegaard is a big supporter of United keeper Andre Onana
The man currently between the sticks at Old Trafford is Andre Onana. And Lindegaard has been one of the Cameroon international’s biggest supporters ever since he arrived at Old Trafford.
Lindegaard labelled Onana a ‘world-class’ talent with the ball at his feet, with Man United’s number 24 proving himself to be a pretty reliable presence with his hands too after bailing Erik ten Hag out on a number of occasions so far this term.
He also believes that Onana’s stellar performance in Inter Milan’s Champions League final defeat to Man City is proof of how much better the former Ajax ace can become with a settled team around him.
“Playing out from the back is not just about you,” Lindergaard told the official Man United website. “It is about the team in front of you as well.
“So, the team needs to be set up and have the right players to do that.
“I remember before United signed him, when he played the Champions League final with Inter against Manchester City and he controlled the game. City couldn’t make their play work and couldn’t get their press working, couldn’t get the ball off Inter, because of Onana.
“He was by far the best player on the pitch in that match. It was one of the best performances I have ever seen any keeper have with their feet and that really tells you something. If you can do that in a Champions League final and against Manchester City, then it is pure world class.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
