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Football League - WHERE ARE THEY NOW: MATTHEW ROSE
- Matthew Rose has switched from taxing his feet to taxing his brain.
- The former Queens Park Rangers and Yeovil Town defender works as a mortgage broker for JP Financial Solutions, set up by his former Loftus Road team-mate Chris Plummer.
Shortly before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2007/08 season, Rose, 33, decided to qualify as an independent financial adviser.
He said: "It is not a career for your average footballer.
"Footballers get bad press for being a bit stupid. But there are a lot of intelligent lads as well.
"For every four who like getting drunk and being daft, there is one who has got his head screwed on. It's just that you only hear about the bad ones.
"I went to a grammar school and had quite a good education.
"This work is a mentally challenging. It is nice to tax your brain. I spent 15 years taxing my feet."
Rose was helped into financial services by the Professional Footballers' Association, which paid for home studies during his last year at Yeovil.
He said: "It's something I fell into, really. I wanted to play until I was 35. But when you get to the stage where you're having injections just to train, you realise your health is more important than football.
"I do miss the game. It's the same as most players. I miss having a laugh with the lads and the day of the game - but I don't miss the everyday stuff."
Rose, who is married with two children, has built up a portfolio of clients that is a mix of footballers and "the man next door".
He added: "I was always motivated by the fact that there was so much bad advice around when I was a player. There are a lot of sharks out there.
"We are not just in it to make a fast buck. Mortgages involve a lot more paperwork than investments and tax claims."
Rose has used his contacts in the game to give seminars to the Millwall and QPR squads - and now has on his books around 20 current players, mainly aged 18 to 20.
He said: "Footballers trust ex-footballers. Footballers either don't want to, or don't have the time to, pick up the phone and find the best advice.
"That's where we come in. Football is a short career. You earn a lot of money in a short time and we want them to come out of the game with their mortgage paid off."
Rose specialises in mortgages and life insurance and can be contacted at matt@jpfinancialsolutions.co.uk - Football League