Mick Channon, now a horse trainer, played for England and was Southampton’s record goalscorer (Image: Getty)
Some former internationals have gone on to become managers, while others have turned to punditry and presenting.
But Mick Channon has enjoyed a unique path since retiring from football after dabbling with horse racing, earning more than he ever did in his football career.
In his 12-year spell with , he became the club’s record goalscorer and also turned out for , and Norwich. His windmill celebration remains one of the most iconic from the 1970s era.
Channon’s talents were recognised at international level and he found the net 21 times in 46 caps for the Three Lions. But there was always a pull towards horses which he couldn’t ignore, and when his football career drew to a close, he set his sights on dominating racing.
It all started when Channon won £100 off a £6 bet on Tintagel in the meeting at Ebor back in 1970 – a sum so large at the time that the bookmakers couldn’t even afford to pay him the full amount.
Only three years later, he would go on to purchase his first horse, Cathy Jane, for £440. That turned out to be a shrewd investment as she went on to claim victory in three races, and that winning feeling woke something inside of him.
He would often visit the track with Magpies legend Kevin Keegan, with whom he co-owned the horse Man On The Run, and the pair sometimes indulged in booze-fuelled sessions to escape the pain of watching their horse finish last.
“I got him along to the races. Our horse came stone last, so we got drunk on champagne,” Channon previously recalled.
Mick Channon (R) and his friend Kevin Keegan at Southampton (Image: Getty)
When he hung up his boots in 1987, Channon struggled without the daily routine of being a footballer until his brother, Phil, intervened and told him to “get off his a***” and do something.
Now 76, Channon is up there with Willie Mullins and Aidan O’Brien as the most-renowned horse trainers in the UK.
At one point he had enjoyed more winners than the late Sir Henry Cecil and John Gosden – whose horse Mishriff won the world’s richest race earlier this year – and had over 200 horses in his stables.
In 2002, he was already winning huge amounts of money thanks to his successful horses.
Mick Channon, 72, is now one of horse racing’s most distinguished trainers (Image: Getty)
But Youmzain – one of the most recognised horses this century – came along and took Channon’s success to a new level.
Having been bought for £33,000, the thoroughbred horse banked nearly £4million in prize money after finishing as runner-up in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe three times from 2007 to 2009. He also posted second-place finishes in the King George Stakes at Ascot.
Youmzain’s consistency put Channon in the spotlight as a highly-rated trainer and he went on to enjoy more success with Samitar, who claimed the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2012.
Over the past seasons, he has racked up a huge £2.6m in prize money over the space of five seasons. While many know him for his football exploits for the Saints, his legacy in horse racing continues to grow.