Every day, players from Manchester United navigate down Birch Road, occasionally pausing for horses from the Carrington Riding Centre or cyclists, before arriving at the club’s training ground. Once autograph hunters have their signatures and entry barriers are lifted, they pull up in front of the glowing red “Manchester United” sign, making their way toward the first team parking area at the back of the main building.
With their luxury vehicles secured and travel bags in hand, they enter the facility.
Upon entering the “players’ corridor,” the first thing on the left is an office behind glass panels, featuring a large central desk and chairs on either side. A flat-screen TV hangs on the back wall, accompanied by phones and laptops. This door is perpetually open.
However, this office is not the domain of manager Ruben Amorim, CEO Omar Berrada, or director of football Jason Wilcox. Instead, it is designated for the player care team, a department dedicated to ensuring that every squad member has their off-field needs met, allowing them to concentrate on their performance.
Player care isn’t exclusive to United. Across the Premier League, clubs are committing more resources to guarantee that their athletes have everything necessary for optimal performance. At United’s training ground, these services are prominently featured for a specific purpose.
The aim? To enable players to leave outside problems at the door and enter training with a focused mindset, ready to play.
Defining Player Care
If a manager’s role is overseeing activities on the training pitch, it is the player care department’s responsibility to handle everything else. They address a multitude of issues, most of which are unrelated to football.
“It centers on the person rather than just the player,” player care expert Hugo Scheckter explained to ESPN. “In broad terms, it encompasses everything affecting a player that isn’t related to football or medical needs. Players spend a limited time at the training ground daily; player care covers everything outside that scope.”
“This could include personal development, providing life skills, welfare support like connecting them with mental health resources, or logistical matters such as relocations and problem-solving. Our goal is to eliminate life’s stresses so they can focus solely on their game.”
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Scheckter has experience with Premier League clubs like West Ham and Brentford, and in 2020, he established the Player Care Group. His expertise includes helping players find housing, select schools for their children, manage tax issues, and secure match tickets.
Player care also involves handling emergencies, such as car accidents or home break-ins, and occasionally requires addressing more unique requests.
“I once had a player who wanted me to catch a bird that was scaring his girlfriend,” Scheckter recalled. “His initial thought was to kill it, but I had to explain, ‘We don’t do that in England.’ Ultimately, we found an ultrasonic device to scare the bird away. It may sound trivial, but if the player isn’t sleeping because of it, it could impact their performance.”
The First Line of Defense
As clubs seek competitive advantages, more are prioritizing player care. Architects at Foster and Partners, responsible for the £50m renovations of Manchester United’s Carrington facility, strategically positioned the player care office near the front entrance.
This trend resonates with teams globally.
“The player care team acts as the canaries in the coal mine,” a high-level source at a Premier League club noted. “They often detect early signs of trouble.
“While coaches and medical staff can assess a player’s performance comprehensively, the player care team is privy to much more about their off-field lives than managers and coaches, and those aspects are interconnected. One affects the other.”
Scheckter states, “Historically, it was a reactive service where players approached us with problems, and we worked to resolve them. Now, many clubs are taking a proactive approach to prevent issues from arising or to manage them efficiently when they do occur.”
The scope of investment in player care varies from club to club, with teams employing anywhere from one or two to over five members in their player care departments, often differentiated for men’s, women’s, and academy squads.
However, the effectiveness of these departments heavily relies on the commitment of the first-team manager and their staff. Some coaches may dismiss the importance of off-field matters, while others embrace a more holistic approach.
“Ultimately, it often comes down to the culture of the club,” Scheckter noted. “I’ve worked with managers who are neutral towards player care but lack enthusiasm. Then, there are those who are highly engaged and involve us in key management discussions, which is incredibly rewarding.”
Incorporating player care into performance meetings that include other key department heads provides significant advantages.
“In these meetings, we might discuss a player who has lost weight recently,” Scheckter explained. “I can reveal that he’s been struggling because his girlfriend is away and he’s not cooking for himself. Thus, we should arrange for meals or a chef when she’s absent. The nutritionist may misinterpret his weight loss as an illness or poor eating habits, but the collaborative approach helps us connect the dots.”
“I’ve approached managers before to brief them about personal circumstances, like how one player lost his mother a year ago on this date, making it easier for them to understand his absence from training.”
As football continues to globalize, there’s rising pressure on player care teams to assist newcomers in adjusting quickly to their environment. It’s not unusual for departments to collaborate with counterparts from rival clubs that have players from the same country.
“For instance, if we acquire a Brazilian player, we might reach out to a nearby club with a Brazilian in their squad,” a Premier League source stated. “Sharing resources helps build a network for the player’s family, making the transition smoother.”
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In many instances, the player care team’s responsibilities extend to supporting family members as well.
“At the Premier League level, most players’ partners do not work, leading to situations where they may feel unfulfilled,” Scheckter noted. “Providing them with purpose and direction is crucial.”
“We frequently observe that a happy player might have an unhappy partner or family member. This often results in the player contemplating a transfer, which can be detrimental to the club.”
Whether serving as wellness advocates or lifestyle enhancers, the player care team aims to keep players content without indulging them excessively.
“Finding balance is key,” a source explained to ESPN. “While we don’t want players becoming isolated from reality, we also strive to prevent them from worrying about mundane tasks like renewing a passport or landlord disputes, as these issues occupy valuable mental space.”
“Increasingly, there’s recognition in sports that mental health is crucial for performance. Our objective is to alleviate the burdens of everyday life, allowing players to concentrate on training and matches.”
Maximizing Athletic Performance
Player care teams generally function offstage, but they can occasionally take center stage.
For example, when West Ham went two months without a win, new manager Nuno Espirito Santo disclosed that the player care department gathered childhood photographs of players to decorate the locker room, providing motivation before a match against Newcastle. The tactic worked, as West Ham secured a 3-1 victory.
“It was a surprise for everyone,” Nuno remarked afterwards. “The player care team executed it beautifully, and the players were taken aback.”
“It’s important for us to reconnect with our youthful dreams and happiness and to find joy in our passion for the game.”
Scheckter reminisced about an early encounter in his player care career with a player who seemed fine but ended up leaving the club because his partner struggled to adjust.
There have also been minor victories that can significantly impact player performance.
“One player was frequently late to team meetings, leading the manager to question his professionalism,” Scheckter shared. “After speaking with him, I learned that in his home country, transport reliability was scarce, and timing was seen as flexible. I explained to him the importance of punctuality in the UK and offered to assist him in getting to meetings on time for a few weeks. With that support, he quickly adapted and was never late again. It’s about being proactive in troubleshooting issues so that athletes can reach their peak performance.
Ultimately, the goal remains unchanged, whether addressing time management, navigating game-related pressures, or resolving a persistent bird tapping on a window.