A select few, however, decided their need for speed was so great that they turned to motor racing once they hung their boots up.
From amateur rallying to 24 Hours of Le Mans, the quality of competition is varied — but all clearly have a thrill behind the wheel. Here, SunSport runs through the pros who have taken to the track.
Jerzy Dudek
When Jerzy Dudek hung up his gloves in 2011, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid keeper returned to his true love.
The 2005 Champions League winner required little speed during his 20-year career between the posts, but as a 24-hour racing driver that's all he needs.
Dudek, now 45, competes in the Volkswagen Castrol Cup, a racing championship which runs through circuits in Eastern Europe.
"Motor racing was my passion before football," Dudek told LFCTV. "I raced go-karts but of course that stopped when I became a professional footballer.
"This is my hobby and my passion now. It’s too late for me to be a professional racing driver, so I know my level and I know how good I am and I always approach things with joy, with laughter and also focus because it has to be serious too."
Fabien Barthez
At the age of 36, Barthez took up motorsport professionally in 2008 when he competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup France.
He then entered the French GT Championship, Bioracing Series and the Caterham Sigma Cup France and achieved his first podium finish at the FFSA GT Championship.
In 2014, Barthez went that step further and entered his first 24 Hours of Le Mans race, finishing a credible 29th.
"I have always been fascinated by motor sport, even when I was playing football. It always intrigued me," Barthez said.
"It’s not like football: you can still be good even when you are 35, which was my age when I stopped playing."
Andre Villas-Boas
Portuguese coach Villas-Boas left his job at Shanghai SIPG in November to compete in his first rally, but it all ended in misery.
The 40-year-old had to withdraw from the Dakar Rally when his Toyota Hilux hit a sand dune.
Despite having pain in his spine and back, there was nothing broken.
Before racing, Villas-Boas told the official Dakar Rally website: "The Dakar was in my mind for quite some time.
"Racing runs in the blood of my family and my dream was to do the Dakar one day."
Max Kruse
Some players don't even wait until they retire to get involved.
As well as being a highly regarded poker player, Werder Bremen striker Max Kruse launched his own motor racing team earlier this year.
In January, the 29-year-old officially unveiled Max Kruse Racing (MKR) and signed Benjamin Leuchter, who competed with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the junior leagues.
Whether Kruse will end up on the track as well remains to be seen, but he does have another goal he's aiming for.
"Footballers especially often drive fast cars without being able to control them in borderline situations," he told Bremen's official site.
"With our training program we want to guide you to responsible driving."
Santiago Canizares
They say goalkeepers are a bizarre breed. Santiago Canizares, who represented Spain and played for Real Madrid and Valencia, is the third shot-stopper on the list.
And as you can see from the video above, he may have had the scariest crash of the lot.
In 2016, the 48-year-old hurtled off the road in his Suzuki at the Sierra Moreno Rally in the southern province of Cordoba.
There were fears for his safety but Canizares walked away, simply saying: "This would be the football equivalent of a slide tackle."
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