Thomas Gravesen played for both Celtic and Real Madrid, but where is the former Danish midfielder now? AS have produced a report on the 46-year-old.
Gravesen made his professional debut in 1995 with his hometown team Vejle Boldklub, where he spent two years before joining Hamburg for three seasons. It was during his time in the German league that he began to stand out, attracting the interest of one of the Premier League’s top teams, Everton. At Goodison Park, he showed his ability to win the ball back in his own half and drive it into the opponent’s box. It was in 2005 that he received a call from Real Madrid, after being scouted by Arrigo Sacchi, the club’s sporting director at the time.
According to Gravesen himself, he did not believe the interest from Madrid was genuine at first. His arrival in the Spanish capital took place in the January transfer window for a fee of €3.5m. At Los Blancos, he teamed up with the likes of Zidane, Beckham, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Casillas. Real Madrid, with Florentino Pérez beginning his stint as president, were looking for a defensive midfielder to fill the gap left by Makelele after his departure in 2003. But the Dane’s style of play began to raise questions around Madrid and across Spanish football in general. He acquired a reputation for being aggressive. Gravesen got into a fight with Robinho in pre-season in 2006-07, which was the beginning of the end for the Denmark international. This incident led to a move that summer to Celtic, and the following year he went back to Everton on loan. In 2009, Gravesen decided to retire at the age of 32.
The ‘Gravesinha’ was a dribble that Gravesen performed in a match at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2006. It was a the match against Sevilla when Gravesen decided to join in with a dribble that was as bizarre as it was comical, putting his knee in danger. The Danish player was about to come into contact with his opponent when he tripped, causing his knee to bounce off the ground. The action could have resulted in torn ligaments but he somehow managed to avoid injury.
With his football career over, Gravesen used the wealth from his playing days to go into business and invest in the stock market, taking his fortune to a reported €110m before later moving to Las Vegas.
GSFN
