WORLD CUP winner Stephane Guivarc’h has swapped grassy pitches for water as he is now a swimming pool salesman.
The Frenchman, 55, once graced the world’s biggest football stage and the Premier League during his playing days.
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Stephane Guivarc’h has left football to sell swimming pools Credit: Federation Franchise Natation
Emmanuel Petit has admitted to missing his former team-mate Credit: Getty – Contributor
Guivarc’h was a part of the Les Bleus side that lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1998.
The striker became one of the most reliable in France during the first decade of his career.
He did enough to earn a spot in the national team for the tournament despite only ever scoring once on the international stage in 14 caps.
Guivarc’h has since been likened to Olivier Giroud for his ability to create space for his team-mates.
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He retired four years after winning the World Cup but decided to step away entirely from football.
He drastically switched his career as he entered the leisure business as a swimming pool salesman at a friend’s company.
Guivarc’h is happy with his decision to leave public life and enjoy a more low-key style.
This has included severing ties with his former France team-mates, including ex-Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit.
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Speaking to L’Equipe, Petit said: “It’s been far too long since we’ve heard from him.
“I don’t really know his reasons; I’ve heard all sorts of rumours, but it’s a shame he wanted to sever ties with the World Cup.
“It’s something that transcends us, that doesn’t truly belong to us, but that binds us until the end of our lives.
“Having left the association myself for fifteen years for various reasons, after a while, I understood, I said to myself: ‘Manu, stop making it a personal matter.’
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“I’d like to see him again, and I think I’m not the only one, because his name comes up often when we get together.
“In a way, we miss him.”
Guivarc’h has previously spoken about his decision to turn his back on football at the age of 31.
He admitted that he wanted to be close to his family in the village of Concarneau in Brittany, France.
He said: “I could have stayed in football, but I didn’t because it’s a life choice. After my football career, I lost my mother.
“My father was left all alone, and I decided to stay with him, to help him.
“And then I stayed here in Concarneau, where all my family is
Guivarc’h arrived at Newcastle in 1998 with an impressive goalscoring record in France but could not replicate it in England.
Stephane Guivarc’h played 14 times for France Credit: PA:Empics Sport
He won the World Cup in 1998 Credit: Getty
He was sold just months later to Scottish giants Rangers for £3.5million, where he spent one year before returning to France to see out his career.
Guivarc’h left Rangers having helped the club win a Scottish double with the league and cup titles.
He rejoined his former side Auxerre where he spent the next two years of his career.
It was his third spell with the club having played there twice either side of a spell at Rennes before joining Newcastle.
He played 60 games in the French league scoring 25 goals before leaving in 2001.
In the last year of his professional career, he was at Guingamp, but he only featured 11 times, scoring one goal.
