Former international footballer Fahad Hadid advised Emirati professional footballers to pay close attention to their financial situation and plan for life after retirement to avoid difficult living conditions and challenges. He stated that it is best to work a parallel job alongside football to secure their future after their playing days are over.
Fahad Hadid, who currently plays for Masfout FC at the age of 32, told "Al-Ittihad": "A football player needs any means to secure his future, or a guaranteed job that will help him secure his life after retirement. Personally, if I could turn back time, I would choose to play football, but alongside that, I would have secured another job to ensure a comfortable life after my playing days."
He added: "Despite the high salaries that some football players receive, they are exposed to going through difficult or harsh circumstances, which highlights the importance of seeking a guarantor for their future."
Fahad Hadid confirmed that he was shocked by what happened to him when he moved to play in the First Division at a young age, saying: "It is not easy for a player who has previously represented popular clubs to move to play for Second Division clubs in the First Division for several reasons, including the style of play, ambition, financial capabilities, the absence of fans, and the transition from playing as a professional to playing as an amateur." He noted that he had to deal with that to continue playing football, which he enjoys and cannot easily leave.
He said: "I have previously played for seven professional clubs: Al-Shabab, Al-Wasl, Al-Nasr, Al-Ain, Khor Fakkan, Al-Emarat, and Hatta, before joining City's team, and now I am with Masfout in the First Division (Amateurs), which totals 9 clubs, which represents a good career for me. In addition to representing the national teams in age groups, I am confident that the passion for football will help me continue my football career and return to playing in the professional league."
He talked about moving to play for Masfout after a good journey with the City team and aspires to gradually return and play for teams that compete for promotion to the professional league.
A strategic mistake
Fahad Hadid revealed that he made a major strategic mistake in his football career when he moved from Al-Shabab club to other clubs, saying that Al-Shabab is the club that discovered him, developed him, and placed him on the threshold of stardom, confirming that it will remain his big home and first club.
Fahad Hadid recalled the statement made by the late Argentine legend Diego Maradona when he was coaching Al-Wasl, in which he said that he would be one of the prominent players in Emirati football. He said that Maradona's praise was a medal on his chest, and that he is very satisfied with himself and his football career, and that he presented technical levels that won the admiration of the fans and coaches, and that his memories are beautiful in all the clubs he played for, and his ambition is to present the best in the upcoming stops.
Regarding the post-retirement phase, he said that he is currently preparing himself to become an agent for world-class players, a job that will keep him next to his beloved game in which he spent the best years of his life.
