I was a Premier League player for West Ham before a ‘nightmare’ in Argentina – now I coach Greece and have undergone an impressive body transformation

Getting a Player of the Year award a matter of months after breaking into the first team would surely mean all roads lead to a top football career.

But for one star who achieved that back in 2014, who’s the son of an ex-footballer, decided to tread a different path in the sport – and now looks unrecognisable from his playing days.

Meet Diego Poyet – son of former Chelsea and Tottenham man as well as ex-Premier League manager Gus Poyet – who looked sure to reach the highest level when he came through Charlton’s academy, while also earning caps for England’s under-16 and under-17 sides.

Aged 19, he made his debut in January 2014 and made 23 appearances in the Addicks’ first team as he played a key role in helping them avoid relegation from the Championship.

His performances even earned him the Player of the Year award, too.

But thanks in part to the ongoing chaos off the pitch at The Valley under controversial former owner Roland Duchatelet, Poyet opted not to extend his contract, much to the disappointment of Charlton fans.

“After about three or four weeks [after the season ended] Charlton contacted me and I wasn’t really pleased with the offer they gave me,” he later told Sky Sports in 2018.

“I’d been at the club six or seven years and had a close relationship with a lot of the players and the offer made me feel under-appreciated, considering how long I’d been at the club and I’d just won player of the year.”

Instead, he signed for London rivals West Ham on a four-year deal.

This was despite his dad, who was manager at Premier League Sunderland at the time, wanting to sign him, but later realising having his son at the Stadium of Light may cause a rift in the dressing room.

6

But after seeking a fresh start following a disappointing ending to his career at Charlton, Poyet went on to make just 10 senior appearances for the Hammers and was sent out on three loans to Huddersfield, MK Dons and a half-season return to Charlton.

After struggling to get regular minutes in east London and then-manager Slaven Bilic advising him he wasn’t in his plans, Poyet’s contract was mutually terminated in August 2016.

The youngster then looked to revive his career in Argentina and Cyprus. However he was unable to get sufficient minutes at Godoy Cruz thanks to the club having too many foreign players.

“I was there for six months and could only play in the Copa Libertadores, where you can register new players for that but not for the league,” Poyet told Sky Sports.

6

“It was a nightmare, it was the worst time of my life. I was in Argentina, living by myself, training week in, week out and for six months I could only wait for the Copa Libertadores.

“When it came around, the manager was hesitant to play me as I hadn’t played a game in months and had to decide if he wanted to play a player who hasn’t played and isn’t match fit.”

His time at Pafos saw him start to play regular football again, making 22 appearances in the 2017/18 season. But as he looked to move on to a Romanian club at the end of the campaign, his move never materialised, leaving him as a free agent for two years.

At the age of 23 with no potential transfers on the horizon, Poyet called time on his career.

6

However that wasn’t the end of his time in football as now, aged 27, Poyet helps his dad as a coach.

First he helped him at Universidad Catolica and was part of their staff when they won the delayed 2020 Supercopa de Chile against rivals Colo-Colo.

Gus was then appointed as Greece’s national team’s manager in February 2022, with Diego joining as an assistant coach, helping them earn promotion to League B in the Nations League.

They’ve also given a great account of themselves in Euro 2024 qualifying as they find themselves third in a group that contains France and the Netherlands.

6

On what Diego’s like as a coach, Gus told talkSPORT.com with Casino Professor UK: “He’s very honest and very strong in terms of his opinion, so you know you can count on him, he’s not going to say yes because I’m his father. He’ll say no and why he thinks it.

“I’ve said many times I need people like this around me. I don’t like it when people always agree with me because then I would be a worse coach. I need challenges and he puts them on me.”

But the switch from player to coach isn’t the only change Poyet has made, as now looks totally unrecognisable from his days running around in midfield for Charlton and West Ham.

His slim build and long locks are now a thing of the past thanks to his new found love for the gym and weight lifting.

6

Pictures on his Instagram show he’s more muscly than ever, with him recently posting a snap of his super strong quads in a gym in Athens.

Gus added: “From what I understand, because I’m not a specialist, is he’s 100 per cent in everything that he does – to the top.

“For example, we went to dinner one day and people will have a beer or a glass of wine – no chance. He doesn’t touch alcohol. Never.

“We finished dinner and we put three or four desserts in the middle; proper, proper desserts. I love them, but he doesn’t touch them.

“So his way of behaving, what his aim is, he’s 100 per cent, he’s not 99 per cent. His way of training, knowing when he needs to grow, when he needs to slim down, when he needs to do a kind of diet, it’s all proper.

“He’s happy with it. I look at him and admire him in that but I’m a different person. It’s incredible, the way he made the decision to stop football…

“And in terms of the help he is as my assistant. Obviously he’s very honest and very strong in terms of his opinion, so you know you can count on him, he’s not going to say yes because I’m his father. He’ll say no and why he thinks it.

“I’ve said many times I need people like this around me. I don’t like it when people always agree with me because then I would be a worse coach. I need challenges and he puts them on me.”

Pictures on his Instagram show he’s more muscly than ever, with him recently posting a snap of his super strong quads in a gym in Athens.