BBC Bitesize lifts lid on football's hidden jobs — from Messi's bodyguard to dressing-room barbers

BBC Bitesize shines a light on football's unsung roles

When asked to name a job in football, most people would quickly reel off player, manager, referee or coach. But the modern game is propped up by a sprawling cast of specialists most supporters never see.

BBC Bitesize Careers has published a feature spotlighting 10 unusual roles in football — from private chefs and bodyguards to barbers — drawn from author Dan Freedman's book 50 Ways Into Football: Dream Jobs on and Off the Pitch. The careers team could not resist selecting a few favourites from the book to illustrate just how varied a football career can be.

Messi's ever-present protector

Among the roles profiled is that of the bodyguard. For some of the game's most elite players, security is an absolute priority given the level of stardom. Take Lionel Messi for example, who has a full-time bodyguard. Yassine Cheuko, who has a background in Mixed Martial Arts, is never far from the Argentinian player's side. The job, Bitesize notes, requires "a good level of fitness, eyes on the back of your head."

Dan Freedman's route from fan to author

Freedman, the creator of the hugely popular Jamie Johnson books and TV drama, is himself an example of someone working in football without ever lacing up his boots professionally. He offered his top tips for aspiring writers in or around the game:

• Read lots, especially about subjects you're really interested in — Freedman spent his teenage years devouring football newspapers and studying match reports and articles.
• Learn to accept rejection — he was rejected by publishers for three years before his first break, but resolved to always try to "fail better" each time by seeking feedback.
• Know your characters inside out — particularly important for fiction, he recommends knowing your characters so well they "almost feel human."

Part of a wider careers push

The feature forms part of Bitesize Careers' Follow Your Passion campaign, run in partnership with The Open University, which explores how young people can draw on their interests to find future jobs. BBC Bitesize has been building out its football careers coverage in recent days, previously going behind the scenes of Match of the Day to profile the broadcast team (9 October 2026) and profiling Football Manager's associate quality assurance manager CJ, who turned a love of gaming and coaching into a video-game testing career (9 October 2026).

To find out more, Bitesize points readers to its Follow Your Passion football careers page, a careers quiz, and The Bitesize Careers Podcast hosted by Radio 1's Katie Thistleton.