‘A lot of people don’t understand the mindset of footballers’: Ryan Bertrand reveals ambition to become an agent when he retires

By Tom Prentki — Ryan Bertrand’s Instagram strapline reads: “Some people play the game, others change it.”

It is a mantra he follows closely. Unusually for a footballer, Bertrand arguably reached his pinnacle aged just 21 as he made his Champions League debut in a winning final for Chelsea against Bayern Munich.

Nine years later, on the eve of his 30th birthday, he has followed a more common trajectory of highs and lows, the latter when he was unexpectedly omitted from Gareth Southgate’s England squad for last summer’s World Cup in Russia.

Now he is focusing on the second half of his motto by using his experience to help change the world of football representation – firstly taking on a more active role with his own agent, First Access Sports.

“I’ve decided to have a bit more of an input in consulting and helping them [First Access Sports] put the right infrastructure in place for the players, looking after them and the finer details,” he said. “In the agency world there’s a lot of people who actually don’t understand the mindset of the players.

“There are a lot of players going out on loan or players leaving England to go abroad but you have to be clear with your objectives, you have to know the player’s tactics and the next club’s tactics and make sure it suits his playing style. They need to go somewhere that suits them to ensure they keep progressing.”

‘Football has changed dramatically’

The England full-back is someone who takes his position as a high-profile footballer seriously, thinking about the game beyond simply his own experience.

“Football’s a sport that in the last five years or so has changed dramatically in terms of the managerial styles and demands of the players. The exposure for women’s football, it’s a really enjoyable space if you love the game,” he says in reference to the recent Women’s World Cup in France.

“I don’t think there are so many barriers anymore, there’s pathways now. The great thing is about the women’s game is that it’s not forced. It’s not pushed from anywhere. It’s grown genuinely, an organic growth over many years. It’s here to stay and you can see the quality from the World Cup that it deserves all the praise it’s getting at the moment and long may that continue.”