The former Leicester City star is given a shocking new job on the construction site

Former Premier League star Danny Drinkwater, who graced the pitches for Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester City, appears to have swapped football boots for a trowel. The former England international, who retired in 2022, surprised fans with his latest career move.

Drinkwater raised quite a few eyebrows when he uploaded a picture to Instagram on Monday. Dressed in a high-visibility jacket and surrounded by planks of wood and scaffolding, he captioned it: “On site today.”

The ex-midfielder did not take the game lightly with one fan, who wrote: “Damn Danny you’ve hit rock bottom.”

He responded by sending a screenshot of the message and replying: “Some of these messages, they behave. I love being on site to graft! It’s a choice.”

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It remains unclear whether Drinkwater started construction as a full-time gig or just a side hustle. At the height of his career, he was earning an impressive £120,000 a week at Chelsea, reports the Express.

Despite the lucrative earnings from his time with the Blues, Drinkwater’s 23 limited-overs appearances over five years make his transfer one of the most disappointing in Premier League history.

Joining Chelsea amid high expectations in a £35million move, Drinkwater previously won the Premier League title with Leicester, only to see his career trajectory take an unexpected turn after retirement.

Following a string of unsuccessful loan spells at clubs such as Burnley, Aston Villa, Kasimpasa and Reading, Drinkwater officially left Chelsea in 2022. His retirement was confirmed around a year and a half later.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Drinkwater admitted: “It may have been a long time coming, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now,” he added: “I think we’ve been in limbo since too long.”

He continued, reflecting on his conundrum: “I wanted to play but I didn’t get the opportunity to play to a standard or a level where I felt appreciated. I’m happy not playing football, but I’m happy playing football, so I’m just shaking hands with the sport?

He concluded sadly, “It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be easy. If I was playing week in and week out and had to say I have to stop, maybe because of injury or just age, not being able to perform on the pitch the way I would like, I think it would be more complicated.”