Thomas Gravesen played for Real Madrid but also was skilled at Call of Duty (Image: Getty/Express Sport)
The engimatic figure of Thomas Gravesen was full of surprises throughout his football career, from joining at the peak of his powers to leaving his team-mates in awe with his pool skills.
But perhaps the Dane’s most impressive achievement outside of the football pitch came as a result of his video game obsession, during which time he apparently became one of the best players in the world at Call of Duty.
Gravesen’s career did not follow the typical path of a footballer in the mid-2000s, having joined Everton from then-Bundesliga outfit Hamburg in 2000.
The Dane’s tough-tackling nature and hard-as-nails persona earned him the nickname ‘Mad Dog’. It also handed him a key role in David Moyes’ setup at Goodison Park, where he racked up 155 appearances and scored 11 goals in five seasons.
But when he turned 27, he decided to try his hand at playing in Spain after Madrid – then managed by Vanderlei Luxemburgo – were enticed by his set-piece abilities, including his trademark long throw-in.
The La Liga giants managed to snap him up in a surprise £2.5million deal in January 2005 as his contract was due to expire in the summer. But after spending just 18 months in the Spanish capital, he was offloaded to Celtic in the summer of 2006.
It was there that Gravensen’s unconventional lifestyle away from the pitch really came to the fore, as his team-mates learned about his bizarre living habits.
His former Hoops team-mate Paul Caddis revealed that Gravesen would head back to his parents’ house in his native Denmark to play video games instead of going on a pre-season holiday with his Celtic colleagues.
Thomas Gravesen played for Real Madrid for 18 months after signing in January 2005 (Image: Getty)
“He used to go back [to Denmark] in pre-season and stay at either his mum’s or his dad’s [house] in an attic probably about the f***ing size of this full table,” Caddis said, appearing on the Undr The Cosh podcast.
“In this little attic, a tiny room for six weeks, [he] just used to sit on his PlayStation. He was like number one or number two for Call of Duty at one point.”
Gravesen would also entertain his team-mates by challenging them at the pool table and it was claimed he even played with a cue signed by seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
“He used to bring us all in, all the young lads, [and say] ‘25 quid a head’,” Caddis added.
Thomas Gravesen’s antics away from the pitch baffled his Celtic team-mates (Image: Getty)
“He would only play for money and we never knew why. He’d be like ‘everyone put their money in’. Used to be like £250 sat in there. ‘Two minutes lads’.
“And he’d run down the stairs at Celtic Park. We’d be looking out the window, he’d open up his boot and he brought out this f***ing Ronnie O’Sullivan signed pool cue, snooker cue, screw it up.”
After retiring from football in 2008, Gravesen claims to have made £100million after making some shrewd investments with his football earnings. He even lived in Las Vegas at one point, with Nicolas Cage and Andre Agassi reportedly amongst his neighbours in a gated community.
He now resides with his model girlfriend Kamila Persse in Denmark. But don’t be surprised if you stumble across the 48-year-old up late dominating in a game of Warzone.