There was always an irony about Espen Baardsen - popular with Tottenham supporters, more often than not he was actually stuck on the bench, sidelined by Ian Walker. Nicknamed 'Espen the Viking' as a tribute to former Spurs goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt, who was also a Norway international and was fondly named 'Erik the Viking'. But George Graham didn't agree with the fans and, after five years and just 22 appearances in the league for Spurs, Baardsen was offloaded to Watford for £1.25m in August 2000. There he made 41 appearances before moving to Everton.
The America-born keeper had an unusual international career, opting to play for Norway where his parents came from, despite the fact that he had never actually been there himself. Baardsen was part of Norway's 1998 World Cup squad.
Baardsen now works for asset management fund, Eclectica.
Why did you decide to give up football?
I got bored of it. Once you've played in the Premier League and been to the World Cup, you've seen it and done it. It was dictating what I could do and when. I felt unsatisfied intellectually, I wanted to travel the world.
What went through your head the day you quit?
I had finished with Watford, been on loan at Everton and had just started at Sheffield United. I had been living out of hotels and suitcases for months. It was in a Tesco in Sheffield that I reached my lowest point. I went into Neil Warnock's office to negotiate my wages and he offered me less than what a tube driver earns. I turned it down. I was young and had my life to lead, and that didn't have to be in football.
How did your interest in finance come about?
It was largely through researching where to invest my football wages. It got to the point where I would spend part of the day playing football and the rest learning about money markets. Rather than play PlayStation in my spare time, I would read bizarre books, The History of Interest Rates and Tomorrow's Gold. Most of my team-mates - Ramon Vega aside, as he had similar interests - probably thought it was a bit weird.
Do you miss football?
A lot of die-hard football fans ask me how could I quit football, but then they haven't been there or done it themselves. I had a great time playing, but I'm very happy with the way things turned out. Sometimes I miss the excitement, the stadium full of people, making a great save, you can't replicate that buzz. But that's overshadowed by other stuff; I especially hated dealing with the media. Those months at Watford after the ITV Digital collapse were pretty awful. Ramon and I were among the higher wage earners and we were made to feel a burden to the club.
What do you do now?
After I quit football I went travelling for 18 months. I came back and got involved with Eclectica in 2005. We currently manage close to a billion dollars - we deal in interest rate trades, foreign exchange rates and stocks. Most people in my industry specialise in one area, say commodities or effects, but I've got a pretty good array of knowledge, which I feel proud of.
Are you happier now you're living without football?
You wouldn't think a person working in the city could say this, but I'm more relaxed, five kilos lighter, fitter and healthier than I was at the end of my football career. Football is stressful, try playing in front of 40,000 crazy football supporters who are happy or sad for their whole weekend depending on how you perform. Never mind all the people criticising you on TV. Don't get me wrong, there is pressure to make money in this job, but it's different and something about it suits me better than football ever did.