Pelle Mattsson wants to change the way people think about footballers. The Norwich City midfielder has completed a two-year financial management qualification while holding down a first-team place in the Championship, and he is quietly proud of what that means beyond the scoreline.

"We're not only footballers, we're also human beings," the 25-year-old told BBC Radio Norfolk. "I want to show you can do that as a footballer, it's not impossible. You can still achieve things outside football."

From video games to lecture notes

Mattsson joined Norwich from Danish Superliga side Silkeborg last year, having already begun his studies back in Denmark. He describes the motivation with disarming honesty: the hours between training and bedtime can stretch emptily, and he did not want to fill them all with a games controller.

"As a footballer you spend most of your time in your flat," he said. "After training you get home early and I was maybe playing a bit of video games. I wanted to do something different."

His mother's advice stayed with him. "My mum always used to say if you want to do something you have to do it 100%." It is a simple principle, but applying it to a demanding academic course while making 44 appearances for the club in all competitions is harder than it sounds. Mattsson says there were moments when he had to "dig deep" to keep going, and that the eventual graduation feeling made those moments worthwhile.

Final exam in a team hotel

The story has a neat, vivid detail at its centre. Mattsson sat his final financial management exam in Norwich's team hotel, on the eve of a cup tie at Cardiff City last month. Most players would be resting, watching footage or simply trying to sleep. He was working through an economics paper. The result, he says, produced "that really cool feeling" of genuine accomplishment.

That the exam was completed during a cup fixture does raise a question worth flagging: balancing academic deadlines with a professional football schedule requires either exceptional time management or a very understanding club. Mattsson's account suggests both are true in his case, though we do not have the numbers to say whether his academic commitments have had any measurable effect on his Championship performances. What we can say is that 44 appearances for the Canaries is a respectable return for a player who arrived from Scandinavia only last year.

Already thinking about what comes next

Mattsson has not stopped at the degree. He has since enrolled on a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship with the PFA Business School, a course designed for those who want to move into club management and administration after their playing days end. At 25, with a reasonable stretch of his career ahead of him, that might look premature. It could equally be argued that learning the language of sport directorship while you are still inside the dressing room is precisely the right time to do it.

The broader point Mattsson is making is worth taking seriously. The stereotype of the footballer who drifts through free hours and struggles to adapt once the game is finished is well-documented. Education programmes run by the PFA and individual clubs have tried to address it for years, with mixed results. What is harder to manufacture is a player who actively seeks out the challenge rather than being nudged towards it.

"I want to spend the time I have really wisely," he said. "I chose to do that with studying and it's been such a good process. I'm really happy I did it."

For Norwich supporters watching a side that has endured a turbulent run of results recently, Mattsson's story is a reminder that the characters in the squad are worth knowing as well as the statistics. Whether his financial management skills ever come to bear on a club's transfer budget remains to be seen. For now, he is making a quiet but pointed argument: that a footballer and a student need not be two separate things.

Frequently asked

What degree has Pelle Mattsson completed?
Mattsson completed a two-year financial management qualification, which he began in Denmark before joining Norwich City from Silkeborg last year.
How many appearances has Pelle Mattsson made for Norwich City?
According to the report, Mattsson has made 44 appearances for Norwich City in all competitions since joining the club.
What is Pelle Mattsson studying now after his degree?
Mattsson has enrolled on a postgraduate diploma in global football sport directorship with the PFA Business School, aimed at those looking to move into club management or administration after their playing careers.