Former Tottenham star announces shock career change after being left without a club and says it's always been his 'dream'

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Watford midfielder Etienne Capoue has left football behind after it was confirmed he has made a career change which has helped him fulfil a childhood 'dream'.

The 36-year-old former France international was without a football club after he departed La Liga side Villarreal this summer after three years in Spain.

Before that, Capoue had spent nearly a decade in English football having joined Spurs in 2013 from French team Toulouse in a reported £9.3 million deal, with the defensive midfielder among several players purchased by the North London side in the wake of Gareth Bale's big-money move to Real Madrid.

Capoue spent two seasons at Spurs where he scored twice in 36 appearances across all competitions, before he moved to Watford in the summer of 2015.

Capoue spent the next five-and-a-half seasons with the Hornets - the first five of these being in the Premier League - and he racked up 181 appearances for the club and scored 14 goals.

The midfielder made the switch to Spain in January 2021 to Villarreal, winning the Europa League with the Yellow Submarines after they beat Manchester United in the final on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

Capoue scored 12 times in 148 games for Villarreal before being released by the Spanish club this summer.

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The holding midfielder was yet to find a new club - but it seems he may well have done just that, only not in football.

He has recently gone back to one of his childhood loves of basketball and has linked up with Spanish third division side CB Jovens L’Eliana, who are based in Valencia.

According to Revelo, the Frenchman is not yet registered so he cannot play games for the team, but he is able to train and take part in friendlies.

It seems the midfielder will be fulfilling a childhood dream should he step onto the court with the Spanish side, as speaking to the same outlet last year, he spoke warmly of his admiration for that NBA when he was a youngster.

He said last September: "My dream as a child was to play NBA basketball. That was my dream.

"But it's still my dream, eh? I don't know... If something happens in life, I want to sign and play. One minute, I don't care, but I want to put my feet on the court and shoot."

Dreams do sometimes come true, it seems.