PREMIER LEAGUE footballers tend to earn the big bucks, but one former star could now be earning more money working at Aldi.
Former Crystal Palace shot-stopper Chris Kettings swapped the football pitch for the supermarket when he hung up his gloves in 2017.
Kettings started life out in the Manchester City academy before heading on a journeyman-like career as a backup goalkeeper.
The Scot, 31, had spells with Blackpool, Birmingham, Morecambe and York City as she searched for a place to call home.
But despite sharing the dressing room with the likes of Wilfired Zaha and Yannick Bolasie during his days in the Premier League with Palace, things didn’t quite work out for Kittings.
He did enough to earn himself three caps for the Scotland‘s Under-21s, but couldn’t nail down a starting position at any of his clubs.
His eight-year career saw him make just 35 appearances between the sticks.
And despite being on the books at Premier League and Championship clubs, the highest level Kettings was able to play at was League Two for Morecambe.
His flurry of loan spells ended when he was released by Palace in 2016 before he gave it one last crack after a free transfer to Oldham Athletic.
But just one year later and Kettings brought an end to his career and hasn’t looked back since.
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2011 – 2014: Blackpool
2011: Birmingham (loan)
2011 – 2012: Stockport Sports (loan)
2012: Morecambe (loan)
2013 – 2014: York City (loan)
2014: Hyde FC (loan)
2014 – 2016: Crystal Palace
2015: Stevenage (loan)
2015: Bromley (loan)
2016 – 2017: Oldham Athletic
2017 – present: Aldi
Thanks to a three-year spell during his career where he studied Business and Accounting with the Open University, Kettings was able to land on his feet and fall into the professional world.
He binned his football contract and penned a deal with supermarket giants Aldi – where he signed on as a director of store operations.
Since then he has managed to progress through the ranks and is now a national supply chain director.
Supply chain managers at Aldi can earn up to £94,240 a year, meaning if Kettings is high up the scale he could certainly be earning more now than he did as a reserve keeper for Crystal Palace.
Kettings previously spoke about how important it is for footballers to educate themselves and secure a safety plan just in case things don’t work out.
In an interview with the PFA in 2015, he said: “What I would say to other players considering education is to just go for it.
“It is a process that is very rewarding and that can open a lot of doors. Not only will it give you a Plan B in case anything goes wrong within football, it is a starter for a second career for when the day comes that you retire from the game.
He added: “I think a lot of footballers are reluctant to explore education, because they feel once they do this they are accepting the fact that one day they will no longer be a professional footballer.”
