Pelle Mattsson is not the sort of footballer who spends every spare hour on the sofa with a games console. The Norwich City midfielder has spent the past two years working towards a financial management degree, completing his final exam in the club's team hotel before a cup tie last month, and he wants other players to know the same is possible for them.

"We're not only footballers, we're also human beings," Mattsson told BBC Radio Norfolk. "As a footballer you spend most of your time in your flat. After training you get home early and I was maybe playing a bit of video games — a lot of footballers do that. I wanted to do something different."

From Silkeborg to Carrow Road, with a qualification on the side

The 25-year-old joined the Championship Canaries from Danish Superliga side Silkeborg last year and had already begun the two-year financial management course in Denmark before making the move to Norfolk. He continued studying in his spare time once at Carrow Road, fitting the coursework around first-team commitments.

The detail that stands out most is where he sat his final paper: in the team hotel ahead of a cup trip to Cardiff City. Most players would be scrolling through their phones or resting their legs. Mattsson was answering exam questions.

"When you graduate, you have that really cool feeling," he said. "You're proud of yourself that you've done something and sometimes I had to dig deep to complete the course."

His mother, he says, was a formative influence. "My mum always used to say if you want to do something you have to do it 100%. I started the financial management academy back in Denmark. It's a two-year academy profession, now I'm done so it's nice. For me, it was such a good thing to do to switch off from football."

Next step: a postgraduate diploma

Mattsson has not stopped there. Having completed the undergraduate course, he has enrolled on a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship through the PFA Business School. That is a notably specific qualification for a player still very much in the playing phase of his career, and it suggests he is already thinking seriously about what comes after.

The PFA Business School exists precisely to bridge that gap, and Mattsson's decision to pursue it while still a first-team player, rather than waiting until retirement forces the issue, is a reasonable model for how professional footballers might approach the financial and professional uncertainty that follows the end of a playing contract.

Forty-four appearances and counting

None of this has come at the expense of his playing career. Mattsson has made 44 appearances for Norwich across all competitions since joining, a return that suggests he is well integrated into Johannes Schumacher's squad at Carrow Road. The Championship remains the priority, and the Canaries will need his contributions on the pitch as the season develops.

But his story does raise a broader point about how clubs and the game's governing bodies treat player development away from the training ground. The PFA Business School and similar initiatives exist, but take-up remains uneven. Mattsson is happy to make the public case.

"I want to show you can do that as a footballer, it's not impossible. You can still achieve things outside football," he said. "I want to spend the time I have really wisely. I chose to do that with studying and it's been such a good process. I'm really happy I did it."

That is not press-release language. It reads like someone who sat in a hotel room with an exam paper in front of him and genuinely meant it.

Frequently asked

Who is Pelle Mattsson at Norwich City?
Pelle Mattsson is a 25-year-old midfielder who joined Norwich City from Danish Superliga side Silkeborg last year. He has made 44 appearances for the club across all competitions.
What degree has Pelle Mattsson completed?
Mattsson completed a two-year financial management degree, which he began in Denmark before joining Norwich. He sat his final exam in the team hotel ahead of a cup match last month.
What is the PFA Business School postgraduate diploma Mattsson is studying?
Mattsson has enrolled on a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship at the PFA Business School, a qualification aimed at preparing players for roles in football administration and management after their playing careers.