Normally in tales of footballers changing careers there is some degree of shock, but not really with Dani Osvaldo – he is exactly the kind of player who you could imagine as the lead singer in a rock band and a Johnny Depp lookalike.
During his first career as a striker, Osvaldo probably would describe himself as a “free spirit”. His nickname was, fittingly, “El Loco”, which translates to "crazy".
That is hinted at by the fact that he played for 13 different clubs during a 15-year playing career in which he never stayed longer than two years anywhere. A journeyman career in Italy, via a spell in Spain with Espanyol, led him to Southampton, who paid a club-record £12.8million to sign him in August 2013 and only really got one stunning goal against Manchester City for their investment.
Osvaldo’s wild streak is also less subtly hinted at via some of the things he did. While at Southampton he was suspended for three games and fined £40,000 for his involvement in a touchline fracas with Newcastle.
Just three weeks later he was suspended by the club for headbutting team-mate Jose Fonte on the training ground. The blow left Fonte with a broken nose and a black eye.
Earlier in his career he punched another team-mate – 19-year-old Erik Lamela – in the face during a dressing room row after a defeat. He was sacked by Boca Juniors for smoking in the changing room. And he was axed from the Italy squad following a verbal tirade against Roma boss Aurelio Andreazzoli.
All of this is a roundabout way of saying that, when he called time on his football career, aged just 30, it made sense that he did so to become a rock star. He tried to explain himself to The Sun in 2018.
He said: "People just don't understand it, you know, they look at me like 'you're crazy. You had everything. You played in some of the best teams in the world and you decided just to quit to do this? You're nuts'. People don't understand. But it's my passion."
Osvaldo is the lead singer in a band called Barrio Viejo. He formed the band with a bunch of friends he met while still playing football for Espanyol in 2010.
The 37-year-old certainly looks the part, with his long hair, beard, tattoos and outlandish fashion sense.
His fondness for smoking and alcohol adds to the image and that means he is often mistaken for Johnny Depp, with a striking resemblance to his Pirates of the Caribbean star Jack Sparrow.
His lifestyle has led to some relationship breakdowns. While still playing football in Italy, Osvaldo left his wife Elena Braccini, with whom he has two children, to hook up with Jimena Baron, an actress and singer from Argentina.
Elena gave him a not so glowing review. "When I met Dani he was pure. Then the success got him dirty. The fame, the money, the wrong people who even sucked his blood.” she told Sport Mediaset.
"He's not bad, he's not crazy either. He's just a man who's so weak, he does not know who really loved him and who screwed him.”
Osvaldo appears to be living the dream. His band’s Instagram account shows that they have recently been on tour in South America, playing in Santa Fe and Buenos Aires in Osvaldo’s homeland of Argentina. And he will also always have his Johnny Depp looks.
