Ex-Derby County and Hibernian player reveals he's now a taxi driver | OneFootball

Lilian Martin made Champions League appearances in the 1990s; now he drives taxis post-retirement

Most footballers often stick to a similar football-based path once they retire, whether that be coaching, managing or trying their hand at the media. But not Lilian Martin, who is now a taxi driver in Nice.

The 54-year-old's career on the field is better known in his native France, where he was part of the Ligue 1-winning Monaco side in 1997, which then led him to Champions League appearances with Les Rouge et Blanc and Marseille in the coming years.

However, he did spend half a year in the Premier League with Derby County in the latter stages of the 2000/01 campaign, making nine appearances and contributing rather little to the Rams' survival that year.

And after that, he spent an even shorter stint at Scottish side Hibernian, making just one league appearance.

That was towards the end of his career, and after trying his hand at coaching and owning his own restaurant, Martin has now settled on a new career path and has found a real joy in taxi driving.

How former Derby County man Lilian Martin became a taxi driver

The former right-back spoke to renowned French publication L'Équipe about his new career path, and the story behind how it came about was rather wholesome.

Martin had lost his way slightly post-retirement, splitting from the mother of his first children and struggling to find his feet in another job. That was, until he met his new partner, whose father inspired him to follow in his footsteps, and hit the road as a taxi driver.

"I had three or four years when I lost my way a bit. Then I met a woman from Nice who got me back on track. Her father was a taxi driver," he told L'Équipe.

"He said to me, 'Try taxi driving, you'll see, you'll love it.' I said that I didn't want a boss, and I wanted to remain free.

"I passed the exam, we started working one week each to get me used to it, and now, since January 1st 2026, it's been me 100 per cent."

Martin has driven around numerous famous faces during his time as a taxi driver, and even some of his former teammates, who admit that they didn't notice that their driver was him at first!

"I see lots of people during the festival and Grand Prix periods," he continued. "I often bump into Ludovic Giuly, and I've driven Djibril Cissé. There's Sonny Anderson, who didn't recognise me with my white hair!"

The 54-year-old likened his new job to his old one when detailing the longest journey he's taken, which saw him drive all the way to Milan.

"In cases like that, we don't use the meter. We agree on a price with a customer before setting off. Taxi driving is a bit like football. Everyone sticks together, but if someone can take advantage of you, they will. So you still have to keep your eyes open."

Lilian Martin has found purpose within his new job

Martin retired way back in 2002 and has taken his time to find his new lease on life.

The article states that he initially tried coaching, having started with the youth sides at former club Monaco, plus then working with young talents in Cannes, but felt that he had reached a "saturation point" in that strand of his life.

He's also tried his hand at venturing into the restaurant business, but has now settled for taxi driving, and seems content with it.

It's a rather wholesome story as to how the new job fell into his lap, and refreshing to see former professional footballers go down a completely different route and take up a much more traditionally "normal" job post-playing.