FORMER Liverpool star Joe Maguire quit football at 25 and now flies a plane and travels the world.
Once a left-back, Maguire has left his football life behind him in favour of adventures to Colombia.
Joe Maguire started his career at Liverpool but played just once for the clubPA
He fell out of love with football after he dropped down to the lower leaguesRex
Maguire revealed how the “toxic” environment in football made him feel “like a slave to the job”.
He enjoyed his time at Liverpool and loved the family feel of the club, but found the atmosphere in the lower leagues to be cold and dog-eat-dog.
The former defender made just one appearance for the Reds in an FA Cup tie at Exeter before being released in 2017.
Maguire said he pushed himself like a “madman” at Anfield and was motivated by the culture at the club, which he did not find elsewhere at Fleetwood, Crawley and Tranmere.
Instead Maguire clashed with managers and struggled to settle – four years after leaving Liverpool he found himself without a club and he has not played since.
He told The Athletic: “It gets so toxic with players who don’t play and managers who don’t speak to them — or who speak to them like s*** without any respect.
“That’s where I clashed with managers. If someone speaks to me a certain way, I bite back.
“You come from Liverpool, where it’s one massive unit of players and staff who want to do well for each other, then you go somewhere else and it’s very different personalities, lots of cliques, and it just feels toxic.”
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Maguire, 27, always had interests outside of football and he has been able to explore his other hobbies since leaving the game.
He attended Paris Fashion Week recently and was invited to Salon Prive Concours by Bugatti.
In between hitting the gym Maguire is often in the skies – flying has always been a passion for the 27-year-old.
He described being in a plane as his “happy place” and often shares photos of himself in the cockpit.
As well as flying, Maguire has also taken sailing lessons and was inspired to start painting by his mum and sister.
He now feels “in control” of his life once again and does not miss football at all as his retirement has helped him come out of his shell.
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