Real Madrid sent Raul Bravo to Leeds in early 2003. (Image: GETTY)
Real Madrid loaned 21-year-old defender Raul Bravo to Leeds in early 2003 as the ace patiently awaited his opportunity to impress in La Liga. He played just six times for the Yorkshire giants, but broke into the Real team on his return to Madrid the following season.
The player was a regular in the Champions League and the Spanish top flight during the 2003/04 campaign and was Spain's starting left-back at Euro 2024.
He eventually dropped to the Bernabeu in the following years and signed for Olympiacos in 2007. The left-back went on to play for numerous clubs before retiring in 2022. And he now gets up at 5:30 a.m. and works as a interior designer.
“When I hung up my boots, I said to myself, 'What do I do now?' When you stop playing football, the first year is very complicated,” the now 43-year-old told AS when discussing his new career.
“You don’t even know where you are. A very bad feeling. This happens to all players. I loved decorating houses, thinking about them and designing them.
“But when a client came, they would ask me where I studied and what training I did. I told them: “Nowhere”. It was complicated.
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Real Madrid hero Raul Bravo has made six appearances for Leeds in 2023 (Image: GETTY)
“With the money I had saved, I bought several houses and decorated them my way, with my ideas and my inspiration.
“I renovated them, then created my catalog and uploaded it to my Instagram. People have to like it because I started selling them.
“I have a nice job. It’s my calling card as a decorator and interior designer. And the houses work, my friend. There is light, hot water…”
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Bravo finished his playing career with 14 caps for Spain and 132 appearances for Real Madrid. And he's certainly grateful for his life after football. “I am privileged. I am very happy with what I do. I get up at 5:30 in the morning. At 6:30, I’m in the gym until 7:30,” he added.
“I come home and take the kids to school. And at 9:15 a.m., I'm already in my routine with my colleagues in case we have a problem with rubble or partitions in a new project.
“Or a newly built kitchen.” This is not a job for me. I enjoy it and have a good time. In addition to that, [at home] in Gandia I have peace and quiet, a spectacular beach that I can walk from one end to the other in eight minutes. Then I can have a beer with friends. What more could you ask for? »
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1963644/Leeds-Real-Madrid-Raul-Bravo