Leeds United paid £7m for Derby County star who retired at 28 – his next chapter was extraordinary | OneFootball

Seth Johnson once bagged Derby County a £7 million transfer fee but his post-playing career is quite unique.

Seth Johnson was once a £7 million man and did have some special moments in his career but his footballing career is almost something of a footnote as he moves through life.

Birmingham-born Seth Johnson was a two-time promotion-winner in the Football League during his playing career which spanned just 11 years – even earning a cap for England in 2000.

A box-to-box midfielder, Johnson often sticks out as a piece of business that Leeds regret on their way to collapsing from being UEFA Champions League semi-finalists to a League One club in the early-to-mid-2000s.

However, following on from his relatively short football career, Johnson has moved into a new life as a businessman and someone involved in the film industry.

The Hollywood life of Seth Johnson

Following his 11-year career that was spent at Crewe Alexandra and Leeds, as well as two stints with Derby County, Seth Johnson has gone on to enjoy a career spanning a variety of ventures.

Partnered with former Rams teammate Steve Howard, Johnson is listed as a director for Greygoose Property Investments Ltd.

A property investment firm, as the name suggests, that deals with real estate in the North East of England – a path that many have gone down after a professional football career but his other role as a member of a film company is a bit more unique.

Johnson is a member of Ingenious Film Partners 3 LLP, who have been involved with the production of many notable films such as Avatar, Life of Pi and Shaun of the Dead.

As well as Johnson, other former footballers such as Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane and Gary Lineker have also been involved with the film production company.

Big money move for Seth Johnson

Prior to helping fund and make Hollywood movies, Seth Johnson was once a rising star of English football after coming through the famed, albeit now infamous, academy setup at Crewe.

With The Railwaymen, Johnson helped The Alex win promotion from the third-tier via the play-offs in the 1996-97 season as they defeated Brentford by a goal to nil in the final at Wembley Stadium.

After three seasons at Gresty Road, making over 100 appearances for the club, Johnson joined Derby County for a couple of years in the top-flight.

In his first stint at the club, Johnson continued to be a regular for England’s U21 side while also earning his first and only cap for The Three Lions in a 1-0 loss against Italy in Turin, replacing a young Gareth Barry in the 73rd minute.

His burgeoning reputation continued to grow until Leeds opted to splash the cash on him in the October 2001 – having finished fourth and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League the season before.

Finishing his career on a high at Derby

Johnson was the first of two big money moves that the Yorkshire giants made that autumn with his £7 million move to Elland Road being followed by the £11 million signing of Robbie Fowler from Liverpool.

He went on to make 12 appearances in the Premier League that season before injuries restricted him to just three starts in the following campaign as things began to go wrong and Leeds eventually steered themselves clear of the bottom three and the relegation places.

The 2003-04 season would see Johnson start 24 times as Leeds succumbed to relegation on the final day of the season.

Paul Robinson, Alan Smith, Michael Bridges, Jason Wilcox, James Milner, Mark Viduka, Ian Harte, Nick Barmby, Danny Mills and Scott Carson would be among those to depart Leeds after their relegation but Johnson remained at the club as they finished in the bottom half of the Championship table, himself only managing six appearances across the campaign.

In the summer of 2005, he would eventually depart Leeds and rejoin Derby on a free transfer as Leeds rebuilt themselves and Derby battled down at the bottom end of the table.

However, his second season back at Pride Park and the final one of his football career before his retirement at the age of 28 did have a happy ending as he started their play-off final victory over West Bromwich Albion to earn a shock promotion in his final game in professional football and the first play-off final at the new Wembley Stadium - something of a Hollywood ending for Johnson.