France 1998 World Cup winner Guivarc'h left football at 31 to sell swimming pools

Stéphane Guivarc’h won the World Cup with France in 1998, scored 169 goals across a 339-game club career, and then quietly left the sport behind to sell swimming pools — a decision that has left former teammates puzzled and, in some cases, saddened.

The 55-year-old striker earned 14 caps for France and was a consistent presence throughout the 1998 tournament, which culminated in a 3-0 victory over Brazil in the Paris final. His contribution was less about headline goals and more about the thankless work of unsettling defenders and creating space for teammates. After the World Cup, he continued his club career with Auxerre, Newcastle United, and Rangers — winning the Scottish league and cup double at Ibrox — before retiring in 2002 at En Avant Guingamp.

Rather than follow the well-worn path into punditry taken by many of his 1998 squad members, Guivarc’h joined a friend’s company in the leisure industry and has been selling swimming pools ever since. He has also distanced himself from the broader group of World Cup winners, a choice that has not gone unnoticed.

Emmanuel Petit spoke to L’Equipe about his former teammate’s withdrawal. “It’s been far too long since we’ve heard from him,” Petit said. “I don’t really know his reasons; I’ve heard all sorts of rumours, but it’s a shame he wanted to sever ties with the World Cup. It’s something that transcends us, that doesn’t truly belong to us, but that binds us until the end of our lives. I’d like to see him again, and I think I’m not the only one, because his name comes up often when we get together. In a way, we miss him.”

Guivarc’h has previously explained the decision on his own terms, pointing to family as the driving force. “I could have stayed in football, but I didn’t because it’s a life choice,” he said. “After my football career, I lost my mother. My father was left all alone, and I decided to stay with him, to help him. And then I stayed here in Concarneau, where all my family is.”

Across his club career he won four domestic honours, including the French league title and the Intertoto Cup with Auxerre alongside the Scottish double with Rangers. By most measures, it was a successful career — capped by the sport’s greatest prize. What came after, though, was entirely on his own terms.