FOOTBALLERS are often told to stick to football, but not all of them listen.
Some of them branch off to create clothing lines, set up charitable work or even… make music.
Former Premier League star Mario Melchiot did just that when he released “Midas Touch” with two of his teammates back in 1998.
Melchiot joined his fellow Ajax stars Dean Gorre and Benni McCarthy to release the rap song alongside their on-field careers.
All three players went on to play in England with Melchiot and McCarthy both having lengthy spells in the Premier League.
McCarthy is now a first team coach at Manchester United and helps to assist Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
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But their brief journey into the music industry still has them hearing their song played in shops back in Holland.
Former Chelsea star Melchiot exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “Even to this day, apparently, if you walk into a store in Holland, they’ll still play that song.
“H&M for example, I heard, are always playing it. It’s crazy!
“And sometimes I’ll go to a bar in Holland, and the guy behind the bar will spot me… and the next thing you know, of course, that song comes on!
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“It’s so funny; you can maybe become used to seeing people walking around wearing a football shirt with your name on it, but I’ll never get used to hearing people singing my song!”
Despite the song gaining success in Holland and even making the charts, Jan Wouters – the Ajax boss at the time – was left unimpressed by the trio’s public appearances to promote the tune.
Melchiot explained: “The only problem was that Ajax were performing so badly at the time, the coach, Jan Wouters, had to tell us to stop performing at TV shows and events and to focus on football!”
In the end all three of the talents listened to Wouters and knuckled down on their football.
Melchiot went on to have spells at Chelsea, Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic as well as representing the Dutch national team 22 times.
While McCarthy was best known for his days at Porto, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham on top of an international career that saw him earn over 75 caps for South Africa.
Gorre also played some football in the English leagues with Huddersfield Town, Barnsley and Blackpool.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
