Ex-Premier League star and Sky Sports pundit swapped football to become mortgage advisor

Ex-Premier League star and Sky Sports pundit swapped football to become mortgage advisor,Former West Ham striker Iain Dowie enjoyed a successful career both on the field before turning to management and punditry, but his career has since taken a sharp right out of football entirely

Ex-Premier League star and Sky Sports pundit swapped football to become mortgage advisor

Football can be a vocation for many of those in the industry, but 25 years in the game was enough for Iain Dowie.

The 58-year-old will perhaps best be known to the younger generations for his stints as manager of Crystal Palace, Charlton and Queens Park Rangers, which is where he drew the curtain down on his 16-year playing career. After his final coaching post at Hull City in 2010, Dowie then became a fan favourite working as a pundit for Sky Sports News.

But the engineering degree graduate has since stepped away from football and is thriving in a different type of consultancy. It wasn't that long ago the Hatfield native was used to advising on transfers and how clubs should be run – but he's now giving tips on a very different field of finance.

Now three years deep in his post as a business director at Lancashire-based solicitors Alexander Grace Law, Dowie is putting his talents to use in an unexpected way. And it's to the detriment of those fans who liked seeing the former Northern Ireland striker on their screens.

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He told Daily Star Sport in 2020: "While people may wonder how I’ve gone from the football pitch to the office I have been working within the conveyancing arena for some four years now and when I was asked if I would come on board with them it was a no-brainer.

"I’m a real people person and much of my role will be out on the road meeting potential new partners and clients. And while I learned my management skills in the football world everything is transferable – but with less swearing!''

What's the strangest post-football job an ex-manager or player has taken? Let us know in the comments section below.

Dowie turned out for the likes of West Ham, Southampton and Crystal Palace as a player, also earning 59 caps for Northern Ireland (Image: Getty Images)

He later spent a decade in management before turning his hand to punditry (Image: Getty Images)

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Dowie's wife, Debbie, has also worked at the firm in the past

Dowie's wife, Debbie, has also worked at the firm in the past (Image: Getty Images)

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Speaking at the time of Dowie's signing, Alexander Grace Law co-founder James Young said: "We’re thrilled to have Iain join our team. He’s a really great, down-to-earth guy and we’re lucky to have him on board. And as a big football fan myself, I for one am loving his locker room stories.''

While some may see an exit from football as a downgrade in some ways, Dowie's frustrations and overall stress levels will have undoubtedly eased in recent years. He's far from alone, too, with ex-Chelsea and Germany forward Andre Schurrle more recently ditching the sport for extreme endurance events.