'I don’t know if I’ll develop into a Mark Zuckerberg but I love a challenge'

Former Manchester United and Norwich player Paul McVeigh was the first Premier League footballer to earn a Master’s degree in psychology

Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Paul McVeigh during a 2004 Premiership game. Ronaldo is the only footballer mentioned during McVeigh's keynote talks. Pic: PAUL BARKER/AFP via Getty Images

For most footballers, the doubts start when the game stops. Paul McVeigh’s experience was the opposite.

He was one of several Irish teens recruited by Tottenham Hotspur in the early 1990s, leaving GAA and the Troubles of his homeland behind, but racked by insecurity.