28-year-old Brisbane Roar centreback Daniel Bowles has retired from professional football as the defender seeks to focus on a growing series of cafes.
After 114 appearances, it's an unlikely end to the accomplished defender's career, but Bowles' business acumen has proven more enticing for the family-man than the A-League.
Bowles already owns two cafes in Brisbane despite juggling his business interests with a full time professional football career, so now that he's able to devote his time to hospitality, he's setting his sights very high.
“I love cooking, I love food, I love coffee, I love making coffee and love business,” he told News Corp.
“It’s a competitive world as well, and I have that competitive nature, and I guess it just all ties in together.
“With my family, it’s time to start the next chapter in our lives, which is away from football.
“I’m not saying that in a couple of years I won’t play in a local league, but for the foreseeable future I’ll be away from football.”
While a knee injury hampered the beginning of Bowles' second Brisbane spell, after previously turning out for Gold Coast United and Adelaide United, the decision is interesting given the defener's prominent position in the Roar setup.
Bowles said that despite the decision, he loved every moment of his A-League career.
“Going into training every day to be with the boys, it felt like home. It’s such a great group of players,” he said.
“This year we had a much better season than last. We could have gone the whole way, and there’s a great bunch of young players coming through as well.”
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