Former Prem star played at 50 after only taking up football to keep fit as he trained to work for the police
A FORMER Premier League star who wanted to be a detective ended up playing until the age of 50.
Jo Tessem had quite a career in football despite never aspiring to get into the game.
At 20-years-old the Norwegian signed up to join the Police Academy in Oslo.
He had to wait a year until he was 21 to be officially inducted, so he decided to join local side Lyn to keep fit – and his his life was transformed.
Fast forward 30 years and Tessem, aged 50, was running out for Hythe & Dibden in the Wessex Premier Division.
He retired last summer to concentrate on his punditry work after a whirlwind career.
Tessem was reportedly welcomed into the Lyn first-team after just one session and later reached the top flight with the club – he even turned down a move to Hamburg to concentrate on his studies.
But it would not be long until Tessem hit the big time, as a transfer to Molde followed and with it brought Champions League football.
Tessem played the likes of Real Madrid, Porto and Olympiacos before signing for Southampton in a £600,000 deal in 1999.
He finished as a runner-up in the 2003 FA Cup final as Saints lost to Arsenal and scored 16 goals in 130 games for Southampton.
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Tessem later returned to Lyn before joining Millwall and Bournemouth on loan.
He came back to the UK and dropped into non league in 2010 with Eastleigh and featured for Totton & Eling 118 times between 2010-18.
The ex-attacking midfielder hung up his boots last summer and now works as a pundit for Radio Solent.