Ex-Premier League winner Danny Drinkwater hits back at troll after he swaps football pitch for building site

The ex-Leicester player took to social media, where he posted on Instagram stories a snap of him on the building site with the caption “on site today”. His career move comes after he announced his retirement from football in October 2023.

Drinkwater was a key fixture of Leicester City’s Premier League squad, and was part of the group of players that pulled off the stunning 2016 underdog league win. After 193 appearances at Leicester, the ex-midfielder, who came through at Manchester United’s youth academy, moved to Chelsea for a £35m fee in 2017.

Since leaving the sport, Drinkwater has become a property developer, sharing the snap of him on the building site with followers. However, the career move prompted some unsavoury comments.

One troll, who Drinkwater highlighted on a separate Instagram story, said: “F***ing hell Danny you’ve hit rock bottom”. The ex-Premier League champion replied saying: “Some of these messages, behaveeee. I love being on site grafting! It’s a choice.”

In a video he posted from a van as he was sitting beside some colleagues, he added: “Come on lads in the white van!”

Drinkwater opened up about his retirement from football on the High Performance podcast last October, saying: "I think I've been in limbo for too long, I've either been wanting to play but not getting the opportunities to play at a level where I felt valued. I just thought I'm restless here for no reason, I'm happy not playing football, but I'm happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?

"It's all I've known, it's been my life since I was six or seven, it was never going to be an easy thing. I think the way it's died down has definitely helped. If I was playing week in, week out and had to stop through injury or age I think it would be trickier. I've had quite a few offers from Championship clubs, but I never felt the burn, it did nothing for me."