Michael Johnson - Footballer to estate agent at just 26
The Tragic case of Michael Johnson, from footballing superstar to estate agent at just 26.
Michael Johnson was called a more complete midfielder than Steven Gerrard and Michael Ballack at a young age, but he’s now a forgotten name in football after failing to reach his potential.
He was tipped for a bright career after rising through the youth ranks at Manchester City but would retire in 2013 without the football world taking notice.
“It’s a tragedy he isn’t still in the game. If he hadn’t had the injuries and the setbacks and one thing and another, he would have had a fantastic career for City and England,” Jim Cassell, City’s former academy director.
Injuries curtail a player’s lifespan at the top level and Johnson certainly suffered his fair share, but the former England U21 international also suffered from bad mental health.
Near the end of his career, Johnson grabbed headlines for criminal activity rather than for performances, so it wasn’t a shock when he hung up his boots.
Johnson had the world at his feet as a teenager and was tipped to be a future Man City captain, but his club would end up paying off his contract to release him earlier.
He ended his career physically out of shape and off the back of drink-driving charges, but how did it come to this?
Michael Johson’s Youth Career
Johnson was born in Urmston, Greater Manchester on February 24, 1988. A Leeds fan from childhood, outlets claim Johnson joined the Whites’ academy at the age of 10 (1998), but this hasn’t been corroborated.
His 2020 interview with The Athletic suggests Johnson actually played for Everton and Man City at youth level first.
A BBC Sport fact file claims he joined Everton in 2000 and Man City in 2002, so there is some uncertainty over his youth career.
What can be confirmed is that Johnson made the surprise decision to move to Rotterdam at age 12 (2000), when his Charlton Juniors side thrashed Feyenoord and the club later enquired about his availability. Johnson’s dad convinced him to take a risk, believing travel broadens the mind, so he went to the Netherlands in 2000.
He was meant to spend four years at the club, developing his skills and being educated, but he was homesick after a few months and wanted to be back in the North-West.
“I started missing whatever a 12-year-old kid would miss about home. I came home and told my parents I didn’t want to go back. And that was it. I didn’t go back.”
After short-lived stints with Liverpool and Crewe Alexandra, Johnson returned to Everton.
But the Toffees reportedly restructured their development teams before Johnson would sign scholarship forms, so he went back to City at age 16 (2004), amid fears he wouldn’t play much football at Everton.
“I would go somewhere for six months, a year, then things would change a bit and I would go to a different team. My dad liked me to get different experiences football-wise.”
Career at Man City
Johnson was a standout star from the academy, which included Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge who was a year below.
Johnson was 16 in his first year back at City and graduated at 18 (2006), skippering the youth team in his final season (2005/06).
Johnson made his first-team debut in October under Stuart Pearce and would go on to rack up 10 Premier League appearances with two assists that season. Johnson was a brilliant box-to-box player, working hard to turnover possession while being capable of dribbling past his opponents and having a great eye for goal, so the coaching staff loved him.
Man City Under Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson replaced Pearce in the summer of 2007 and made Johnson a regular in his team.
The midfielder featured 25 times across the board in 2007/08, scoring two goals with three assists, but he missed 15 league games through injury.
His first City goal came in their second league game of the season against Derby County, with Johnson collecting the ball under pressure but taking on two players without breaking a stride.
He found Elano and ran into space through the middle to get the ball back, before firing into the back of the net from distance with the outside of his right foot.
Not only did his wonder goal win City the match, but it also ended their eight-game run without a home goal. Johnson’s second one came a month later and was pretty good too.
He played a give-and-go through the middle, collecting the return pass on the run and bearing down on goal before coolly slotting into the bottom corner.
Eriksson would say of Johnson: “He really was excellent and everyone was sure he would be the next big star for England.” A
Dietmar Hamann, who mentored the midfielder upon his graduation to the first team, said he was better than Ballack and Gerrard when they were his age.
Liverpool wanted to sign him for £10m at one point too.
Mark Huges becomes City Manager
Mark Hughes would replace Eriksson in the summer of 2008 and made Johnson a regular in the starting eleven until injury struck early into the season.
The 35-year-old picked up a groin problem in September and wouldn’t return for 12 months.
Hughes described Johnson as ‘an outstanding young player with a great talent and a great future ahead of him.’ He also tipped the midfielder to be a star for England, but he’d never reach those heights again.
The 35-year-old would make six more appearances in five years at City before retiring, as injury setbacks saw him on the treatment table more than the pitch.
Injuries take their Toll
Johnson spent an entire year out with a groin injury in 2008/09, so City wasn’t taking chances upon his recovery.
He sat on the bench for months in 2009/10, getting just one minute as a substitute, but Johnson would pick up a freak knee injury in December 2009 which ended his season prematurely.
The midfielder didn’t play a single league game in 2010/11, only making the matchday squad for one FA Cup clash, so the writing was on the wall at City.
Leicester signed Johnson on a season-long loan in the summer of 2011, but he hadn’t started a game for three years and was lacking match fitness.
“That was probably a mistake. He didn’t perform as well as I thought. He wasn’t as he was before. Something had gone wrong,” said Eriksson.
Johnson didn’t play his first game under Eriksson until late-September and his season was already over in early-November after nine appearances due to injury.
The Englishman always worked hard in rehabilitation before suffering a crushing setback on the road to recovery, so it’s little wonder his mental health suffered.
He picked up a hip problem, an abdominal issue that required double surgery and a knee ligament injury at City, so fortune wasn’t on his side.
Mental health problems
Johnson claimed he always suffered from anxiety, even during his heady days at Man City.
He couldn’t believe how much confidence other players had as he never had self-esteem. The midfielder was often nervous in social situations and was feeling worse despite his career ascending.
“I would just wonder, ‘How have they got that? How? How? How? That was one of my problems, not being happy in my own skin. I could never shake that.”
He was motivated early on, working hard to impress, but struggled after that good feeling went.
Johnson would deal with his emotions through drink and gambling, going to nightclubs and casinos while ruining his body with takeaway food.
“I was dealing with things the wrong way. I went out too many times, going to nightclubs or whatever. It was always to try to feel better about myself. And it was unhelpful. I was having drinks as a way of dealing with my emotions.”
He admitted not wanting to do rehab for his injuries and grew anxious at the prospect of socialising with staff members, so his mental heath took a battering.
Johnson didn’t speak about his problems to his friends or family, instead just suffering in silence.
“I was injured quite a lot. That didn’t help. It’s well known that you can get those natural endorphins by playing and exercising, but I wasn’t getting that release. The biggest problem was I just didn’t have any self-worth.”
In the same year City won their first top division title in 44 years (2012), Johnson was being charged twice for drink-driving.
City didn’t terminate his contract due to fears over his wellbeing, but he’d lost his shirt number a year previous and wasn’t in any physical condition to play.
The drink-driving charge appeared to be Johnson’s rock-bottom moment, however, as he checked himself into the Priory clinic. Johnson would speak to City after leaving the clinic and it was agreed that he should part company.
“I knew I couldn’t give my all in football. I needed to sort myself out. I knew I couldn’t be a professional footballer.”
Johnson’s Retirement and Present Day Occupation
A picture of Johnson outside a kebab shop looking overweight and a little worse for wear went viral on social media in 2013.
Fans couldn’t believe it was the same person, as Johnson was a very lean midfielder, but the picture resulted in journalists contacting City to glean information about Johnson’s situation.
“I hadn’t done anything fitness-wise for about six months when that picture was taken.”
City revealed he’d already been released, and he went on to retire that same year. After some short-lived business investments, Johnson is now a landlord of multiple properties and has a car dealership with his father.
“It’s amazing. Once you sort yourself out, the problems that you thought were there, you realise they’re not problems.”
He’s happier and healthier than years previous, but what could have been if luck went his way in football…
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