‘I came fourth in Ballon d’Or and played in the Premier League – now I sell vacuum cleaners’

One Ballon d’Or candidate now lives a completely different life after hanging up his boots

When Tomas Brolin finished fourth in the 1994 Ballon d’Or, few could have imagined that just four years later he’d be selling vacuum cleaner paraphernalia. Yet, true to form, the Swede remained as unpredictable off the pitch as he once was on it.

Despite once looking destined to become one of Scandinavia’s all-time greats, Brolin retired at just 28 after years of battling injuries, weight issues, and waning motivation. A record signing for Leeds United in 1995 – the most expensive foreign player in British football at the time at £4.5million – his career fizzled out far sooner than expected.

But it was his entrepreneurial streak, not his footballing talent, that ultimately defined his post-playing years. He joined forces with Swedish inventor Goran Edlund to develop a new vacuum cleaner nozzle – one that was lighter, more efficient and easier to clean than its rivals. In the years since, the now 55-year-old has also branched out into footwear production, property development and a career in professional poker.

Many footballers find the transition back to ordinary life after their playing days difficult, but for Brolin, it was quite the opposite. “I was really tired of training every day and had other projects on my mind,” he told La Gazetta dello Sport. “I’ve always been very curious. I needed something more. My mind was looking for new experiences, and being an entrepreneur helped me.

“I had a new idea for a new type of vacuum cleaner. I was literally drawn in and founded a company. It was that drive that made me never want to go back. Back then, everyone told me that 28 was too early to retire, but I replied, ‘It depends on what you’ve done in those 28 years.’

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“I had already achieved a lot. I came fourth in the Ballon d’Or. Life is too short to do boring things . I don’t do things I don’t enjoy.”

In his pomp, Brolin was one of the world’s most electric playmakers. A creative enigma capable of scoring goals, he dazzled both team-mates and opponents with his dribbling, passing range and rocket of a shot.

Remembered by many England fans as the man who scored the goal that knocked Graham Taylor’s men out of Euro 1992, Brolin began his career in his native Sweden before earning a career-defining move to Parma in 1990. There, he would go on to play alongside Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola and an emerging generation of iconic Italian talent – Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro and Filippo Inzaghi among them.

During his five years in Italy, he helped Parma capture the UEFA Cup, the European Super Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup and the Coppa Italia. On the international stage, he was instrumental too, helping Sweden clinch a third-place finish at the 1994 World Cup.

Later that year he finished fourth in the Ballon d’Or voting – level on points with Gheorghe Hagi and behind only Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio and winner Hristo Stoichkov, who would later become his team-mate at Parma.

In 1995, Brolin signed for Leeds in what was considered a major coup for the Yorkshire club. But he never came close to meeting expectations. The injury problems that had sidelined him during his final year at Parma resurfaced and a strained relationship with manager Howard Wilkinson – who insisted on playing him out of position on the wing – soon made his spell at Elland Road untenable.

The situation deteriorated further in 1996, following an April Fools’ prank gone wrong. Brolin jokingly told Swedish television he was re-joining former club IFK Norrköping but when the story was picked up internationally as fact, Wilkinson was furious. Not long after, Brolin was loaned to FC Zürich.

Later that year, he returned to Parma on loan, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti and featuring yet more emerging stars such as Alessandro Nesta, Hernan Crespo and Lilian Thuram, before joining Crystal Palace permanently in 1997.

His stint at Selhurst Park proved disastrous. Struggling with recurring injuries and ongoing weight issues, Brolin left the club after just one season – without scoring a single goal. A few months later, at only 28, he retired from professional football for good.

Despite the chaotic final years of his career, Brolin insists he has no regrets about his decision to quit football. “I discovered a new world, learned a trade, and challenged myself again,” he said.

“Now, when I think about it, I come to the conclusion that I’ve always wanted to improve myself in every aspect. I did it with football, I did it with business. It [football] was fun when I was a child and a job when I got a little older… Life is too short not to have fun.”

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