The 28-year old Europa League winner turned director and photographer

Former Tottenham goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman says football is a “different world” from what he is doing now.

Whiteman was part of the Tottenham squad that won the Europa League in 2026. At only 27 years old, the former footballer has since left his boyhood club, not to pursue football elsewhere, but instead to enter the art world. His project, ‘Alfie Whiteman, A Loan’, was launched at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May 2026.

There, he showcased photos from his loan spells at Degerfors in Sweden and highlighted his transition from footballer to director and photographer.

Although his work has accelerated since the end of his football career, Whiteman revealed that his art projects began long before he hung up his boots.

“It sort of started many years prior,” he told Hayters.com at the launch of Together Tottenham.

“When I was kind of 17, 18 and full-time, I realised that I was interested in other things and was using my spare time to get on set and get experience and, you know, plan for life after football because I knew how short a career it was.

“Ultimately, I was sort of living a double life, using my days off to try and do what I could outside, so when that day did come, I’d have some experience.

“And then I got to a point where I decided that I actually just wanted to kind of explore these other things myself and not wait for retirement age.”

Whiteman was part of a Spurs squad alongside players such as Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dele Alli.

“I kind of didn’t really shout about things,” he said when asked what the rest of the squad thought.

“But all the players are wonderful. I had so many, you know, good friendships.

“But I would say I didn’t kind of fully talk about everything because it was somewhat of a different world to the other things I was doing.”

Although he says football and his art career are different worlds, Whiteman explained how many of the skills he learned while playing still benefit him in his new ventures.

“I was a sort of lifelong fan and a mascot as a kid, but I feel football, you know, taught me a lot of things that I’m realising are very transferable into what I’m doing now.

“I think I was very lucky and fortunate to kind of have those wonderful experiences. All the hard work and sacrifice that it took.

“I feel like even when I’m doing these other things, I’m seeing the value in it.”