Relaxing river time and tabletop tekkerz: How to unwind like a premier league pro

With a new Premier League season about to get underway our favourite footie stars will once again step into the spotlight. But the beautiful game is also very high-pressure and footballers, like anybody else, need to be able to relax. BBC Bitesize takes a closer look at the off-field interests of five well-known players. With hobbies from pigeon fancying to tabletop games we could all learn a thing or two on managing stress from these top footballers.

Phil Foden - Match of the Day to Catch of the Day

Manchester City and England star Phil Foden is well aware that his beloved hobby of fishing sets him apart from the vast majority of his teammates. He told his club's website: "Probably about 95% of the football lads don't enjoy it…when people find out they say 'What a weird sport to enjoy'."

Foden and his dad, Phil senior, have gone fishing at many different spots in the UK and occasionally in Spain, where the footballer celebrated one of his biggest catch…a beyond-whopping 130lb catfish!

In terms of how the midfielder first got into fishing, Foden recalled: "I was probably about six or seven and my dad had a fishing rod of his dad's and said we should go and try it out. I fell in love with it and we ended up going every weekend." And when he became successful at City, he saw how useful his favourite pastime could be: "I think it's really good after games when you have to rest your legs, and I just find it really enjoyable…It's good for clearing your head after you've had a bad game,’” he said.

And it seems the riverbank is the ultimate escape for the city number 47, he explained: “If there's a few problems you're having, you just go fishing and clear your head. I've found it the perfect way to get away from everything, from football.” Phil also finds the sport the perfect way to fill any empty match-weeks: “Some people don't know what to do with themselves when they don't have a game. I think it's really important to find that different hobby."

Joe Allen - The former swan who loves his chickens

Former Wales international Joe Allen began and ended his career at Swansea City, before retiring from professional football in 2025. In between his two stints playing for the Swans he enjoyed four seasons at Liverpool and six at Stoke City.

After he announced his decision to hang up his boots, a fan posted on X: "Joe Allen retires. Legend of Welsh football. Thanks Joe! Enjoy the chickens of retirement." - But why mention chickens in a congratulations message??

Well, he may have been much more famous for his footballing achievements, but Allen made sporting headlines for a very different reason in 2016. In March of that year, the BBC Sport website reported: "Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen has ruffled a few feathers by appearing on the front cover of Chicken & Egg magazine. For most footballers, the recovery time they get after training and between matches usually means plenty of golf, or computer games. But saving birds by re-homing them after they have finished their commercial lives is what keeps Wales international Allen busy."

Allen told the British Hen Welfare Trust publication: "The football can threaten to take over at times but spending time with my family and pets is very important to me so I always find a way to get the right balance."

He revealed he had names for each of his many chickens, which included two cockerels and 14 hens. The cockerels were Bruce and Rodney, and the hens names included Meg, Silkie Steve junior, Snowy, Dora, Holly, Shimmer, and Chickaletta.

Sounds like a line-up that could give any premier league team a tricky time in front of the kop, sorry, coop!

Axel Tuanzebe - the defender hungry for a world record

During Euro 2020 it was reported that many of England's star players enjoyed a round or two of the classic family card game Uno. They played the game as a way to unwind between matches and after training sessions. Attacker Jadon Sancho, and defender Luke Shaw were reported to be particularly keen players. And they aren't the only players to be skilled in the world of tabletop games.

Though he now plays for Burnley, during his time at Manchester United defender Alex Tuanzebe become a Guinness World Record holder. But this this accolade was not achieved by keeping clean-sheets, making tackles or completing passes. Instead, it was for playing the iconic game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Just incase you haven’t played it, the aim of this chaotic game is for players to each take control of up to four mechanical hippopotamuses and ‘eat up’ as many marbles as they can, as quickly as they can. Mayhem.

In July 2018, Tuanzebe, broke the world record for the fastest clearing of a Hungry Hungry Hippos board. He finished the game in 17.36 seconds. Members of United's squad had been invited to try to set new records as part of a special collaboration between the club and Guinness World Records - and it was the then 20-year-old who triumphed.

Sadly for Alex, his record has since been broken more than once. The current holder of the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to clear a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos (individual) is Lim Kai Yi, from Malaysia, who managed a time of just 11.47 seconds in October 2024.

Duncan Ferguson - providing a plush pad for pigeons

Former Everton striker Duncan Ferguson - one of football's most colourful characters - has had a passion for pigeons since childhood.

"People are fascinated by my love for these birds," he wrote in his autobiography, Big Dunc (published by Century in 2025). He went on to write, "I care for them. I love setting them free to fly, and then that great moment that lifts my heart when I see them returning to me. It's about love, freedom and loyalty. People relax in different ways…I relax by holding my pigeons and spending time with them. That works for me more than anything."

The former Toffees goal scorer gave another illuminating insight into just how much he cares for pigeons when he took part in a question and answer session for The Guardian newspaper. Ferguson was asked by one reader if it was true that he once had a £20,000 pigeon loft. "That is true," he replied. "It was unbelievable. Once I had a few quid I converted the pigeon loft. It had a conveyor belt that collected the droppings. All I had to do was push a button and the droppings would be taken outside. It had underfloor heating, a tiled roof, the lot. It was better than my house! It was like a sauna and the pigeons would be lying there with their wings up. They couldn't race, they wouldn't come out the loft! It was about 40ft long. I still keep pigeons but I don't race them any more. I like looking at them and petting them. Keeps me calm."

Toni Kroos - a precision passer with a love for the arrows

Toni Kroos retired in 2024 following a glittering career. His impressive trophy haul included three Bundesliga titles and a Champions League with Bayern Munich, four La Liga titles and five Champions League trophies with Real Madrid - plus a World Cup with Germany.

Many football fans believe he was one of the greatest midfielders of all time, with his many qualities including his pitch-perfect vision. This particular characteristic is also a necessity in many other sports, and perhaps it may help explain why Kroos is a super-fan of one of them - darts!

The German has become well-known over the years for sharing his admiration and respect for the sport and its competitors on social media. For example, in December 2016 he used X, then known as Twitter, to shout out Phil Taylor as "the best darts player of all time", while in January 2018 he posted: "This career is unrepeatable. Darts means @PhilTaylor!"

Another darts player who can vouch for Kroos' love of the sport is Michael Smith, who was the PDC World Darts Champion in 2023. The following year, he said: "The weirdest moment of the last 12 months, the one that stands out, was in Bahrain, at the next tournament straight after the World Championship. I was on the toilet, minding my own business, when I got a text message off Toni Kroos, asking if he could ring me and go on his podcast and everything. I nearly started crying in the toilet…He still texts me now, asking me about darts and stuff. Just getting to speak to someone of his stature was incredible.”

This article was published in August 2025