Man Utd treble winner is unrecognisable 25 years on and is now living a very different life

One former Man Utd player now leads a totally different life.

A former Manchester United player looks unrecognisable after helping his team to win the treble in 1999.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side infamously came from behind to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 at Camp Nou, through injury time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, to win their third trophy of the season.

They had already won the Premier League – which went down to the last day of the season – and the FA Cup before arriving in Barcelona.

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Most of the United XI that lined up Bayern still remain prominent figures when it comes to being involved in football, including Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Peter Schmeichel and, of course, David Beckham.

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But one player who wasn’t present in the squad was Roy Keane, with the Republic of Ireland midfielder suspended after being sent off in the semi-final second leg against Juventus.

And with Paul Scholes also suspended, Ferguson had some key decisions to make when it came to selecting the midfield section of the starting XI.

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Ultimately, the Scot chose Beckham in central midfield, with Sweden international Jesper Blomqvist playing on the left of midfield.


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Blomqvist actually went on to have perhaps the most interesting post-playing career of any his former team-mates.

He officially retired from football in 2010, at the age of 36, after spells with Everton, Charlton and three teams in his native Sweden.

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Away from football, Blomqvist is passionate about cooking, and even had his own cooking show on United’s in-house MUTV channel titled ‘Cooking with Jesper’.

He opened up his own pizzeria after retirement, and won Sweden’s Celebrity Masterchef competition last year.

Speaking to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet about his success, he said: “I felt that there were people who were a little better in terms of knowledge, but I thought the competition itself was a bit difficult.

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Alongside his cookery exploits, Blomqvist is still involved with football, as he regularly plays in the Manchester United Legends side.

In 2015, he scored in his home city as United Legends defeated Liverpool Legends in Stockholm.


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He told MUTV: “It feels fantastic, and to be home here in Stockholm makes it even more special.

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“To raise money for the charities is a big part of why we are doing this; I’ve seen myself last year doing some work with the Foundation at their Street Reds projects in Manchester, so I know it’s for a great cause.”

Featured Image Credit: Getty / Twitter

Topics: Manchester United, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Football, Sir Alex Ferguson, Premier League, Champions League

Ryan Smart
Ryan Smart