Leeds United’s Maximilian Wöber has told LAOLA1 he would recommend fellow footballers take up a management course to plan their future after retirement.
The Whites took the 25-year-old from Red Bull Salzburg in the winter market. More than a year before joining Leeds, he had signed up for an MBA in Business Administration & Sport at Fachhochschule Burgenland.
“I can only recommend it 100%. No matter what sport you work in, at some point professional sport will come to an end because you can no longer keep up with the young wild ones. Then it is very important to be broadly based by already dealing with the career afterwards during your career,” he said.
The Leeds centre-back has a long future ahead of him, but that didn’t stop him from planning for a new career post-retirement. The decision to take this step arose after seeing situations of some of his teammates who were in the twilight of their careers.
“I’ve already played with some footballers who were towards the end of their careers and knew that physically it might be another year or two. A lot of people asked themselves: What am I going to do after my career? Just sitting at home and doing nothing doesn’t make you happy either,” Wöber explained.
The Austria international feels having the Master’s Degree will help him have more options when making a decision in the future.
“As of now, many of my skills are bundled there, but who knows, maybe in ten years I’ll be interested in something completely different,” the Leeds defender stressed.
“There’s also the idea of working in a company that has little to do with sport. With this MBA, I’ll be able to focus on what interests me and what I enjoy when the time comes. Or I’ll become a coach after all.”
Wöber has been juggling the MBA course and Leeds United’s busy schedule, which is working well for him right now.
“If you have three away games in a week, you’re just sitting on the plane or bus and there are hardly any quiet moments, it’s difficult to sit down for two or three hours, listen to lectures or write one or the other assignment. Sometimes you’re just too mentally and physically tired,” he said.
“If we only play football at the weekend, you can also concentrate on other things. Then, this course is ideal because I can flexibly decide when I want to take on which topic and when to take which exam. This degree shows the perfect way for us to complete an apprenticeship alongside sports.”
