Stoke City’s Million Manhoef has revealed a surprising plan for his career once he hits 30-years-old, a return to competitive fighting.
The winger has been speaking to Algemeen Dagblad about his career plans moving forwards as he continues to establish himself at Stoke.
The 22-year-old joined the Potters in a €4m deal at the end of the January transfer window after rising through the ranks at the Dutch club following a move in 2016.
He’s enjoyed a solid start to life at the club ever since, bagging seven goals and two assists in 25 games to date.
Given his age he has plenty of development and growth yet but has shown encouraging signs so far given he arrived from Vitesse with a record of 16 goals and 14 assists in 88 games.
The Championship could be the perfect proving ground for him, with plenty of its stars making the step up to the Premier League over the years. Indeed, this summer saw several joining the likes of Ipswich Town and Southampton following their promotions.
That will have to happen in the coming years for Manhoef, though, as he’s revealed he doesn’t plan to stick around in football once he hits 30.
“Eight to ten years,” he said when asked how long he’ll remain in football.
“I won’t continue until I’m 35. That’s too long, because I have another dream that I want to realise. Until I was fourteen, I had more talent in boxing than in football. I still do it sometimes during summer holidays with my brother. A bit of sparring and keeping up, also to see if I can still do it.
“You never know exactly how things will turn out, but I plan to start boxing again after I turn thirty.
“I worked really hard to get here as a footballer. Fighting is my other passion, and I intend to do the same. Working hard because I think I can go very far in that. I want to become world champion. I believe that is possible. Then I got the most out of two passions. How beautiful is that?”
