Very few people will remember Pegguy Arphexad – even supporters of the two English clubs he played for.
The former Leicester City and Liverpool goalkeeper started his football career in France with Stade Brestois, Lille and Lens, but it’s in England where he made it onto the pitch.
First at Leicester, where he proved himself to be a capable second choice under Martin O’Neill. Arphexad’s Premier League minutes were limited but O’Neill trusted him to keep goal in the cup and he didn’t disappoint.
Arphexad kept two clean sheets against Arsenal in the 1999/00 season as Leicester advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Those showings prompted O’Neill to play him in the league and Arphexad managed to impress Gerard Houllier enough during the Foxes’ 2-0 win at Anfield later that season to earn a transfer to Liverpool.
Arphexad spent three seasons at Anfield under Houllier and won six trophies in the process – two League Cups, an FA Cup, UEFA Cup. Charity Shield and the European Super Cup – but he barely played at all.
The goalkeeper, now 50, only played six matches for the Reds and he won all of them. He also managed to keep three clean sheets in Liverpool’s goal.
Despite this, most Liverpool fans wouldn’t recognise Arphexad if he walked past them in the street. And the same can be said for all of his previous clubs’ supporters with Arphexad making just a half century of appearances across a 16-year career which finished at Marseille in 2005.
Arphexad didn’t make enough money from his playing career to never have to work again and has found himself a day job since quitting football.
There were rumours that Arphexad had entered the porn industry a few years ago – but the man himself insists that isn’t true.
Speaking to the Leicester Mercury, Arphexad said: “Look, this is a bad rumour. It’s been going round a long time. One English guy wrote on the internet years and years ago that I was doing this and now people say to me: ‘Hey, are you making porn films?’
“I haven’t made ANY porn films, okay. I don’t do that. I work for a sports insurance company. That’s what I do. Put it in your paper – I don’t do porn films, just insurance, okay?”
So, there you have it. The man who made a career out of being Premier League clubs’ goalkeeping cover is now selling insurance to make a living.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
