Jaap Stam exclusive: I could have been on Big Brother – I had to get back into football

Jaap Stam

When you retired as a player back in 2007, you said that you had no interest in moving into management. Why did you change your mind?

Yes, I admit I was completely wrong. At the time I finished playing, I thought I didn’t want all that pressure any more, but I had to do something – I’m not the type of person to sit at home and stare out of the window all day. I was offered lots of television work, including being on the Dutch version of Big Brother, but I didn’t want that. The truth is when I retired from football, I stopped being involved in the most beautiful thing in my life, so I had to get back into it again.

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Sam Pilger

Sam Pilger is a freelance sports writer who writes for Forbes, FourFourTwo, Optus Sport, The Athletic and The Times Magazine. He was previously the deputy editor of FourFourTwo magazine (lucky him), still contributes regularly and has written several books, including Manchester United's Best XI and For Club and Country with Gary and Phil Neville.