Buddy Franklin reveals surprising new sports career move after retiring from football: ‘I have started training’

He was one of the AFLs greatest players.

And now Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin has announced he is getting ready to strap on the boots again, but this time for marathon running.

‘I think once you finish (a sporting career) you always need a challenge,’ the former Swans champ said.

Lance, who is known professionally and to his fans as Buddy, made the comments in a new interview with the Herald Sun on Saturday.

The hulking former forward, who kicked more than 1000 goals in first class footy over 18 years, gushed about his new plans to take to the demanding world of the long distance track.

‘Having played football professionally for so long this is something I am really looking forward to, I can challenge myself mentally and physically and see how I go’ he said.

Former AFL great Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin (pictured) has announced he is getting ready to strap on the boots again, but this time for marathon running

Elsewhere in the chat, Buddy revealed he had plans to compete at the Los Angeles marathon.

But he said that given the situation with the wildfires, he now is not certain whether the run will go ahead.

He commented: ‘That was all locked in to do, so we are looking at doing something else (a different marathon) at the moment, which will be exciting. I have started training, I am only a couple of weeks in, so the next few months will be interesting.’

The former footy star enjoyed one of the best careers the game has ever seen before quitting the sport in July 2023 following a calf injury. 

Buddy’s exit from the AFL was officially announced by the club after the forward told teammates of his decision.

He posted a brief message of gratitude on Instagram shortly after the news became public.

‘What a journey. Thanks to everyone who has been on this crazy ride with me,’ he wrote, accompanied by a love heart emoji.

Buddy, who won a premiership with the Hawks in 2008 and 2013, will go down as one of the greatest players in the history of Aussie Rules football.

The former footy star enjoyed one of the best careers the game has ever seen before quitting the sport in July 2023 following a calf injury 

He’s now ranked fourth among the all-time list of AFL and VFL goalkickers with 1066 majors from his 354 games.

His 1000th goal set off wild scenes as fans flooded the SCG during the Swans’ clash with Geelong in March 2023.

He started his career in first class footy with Hawthorn in 2005. He quit the Hawks and joined Sydney in 2014.

it comes after Buddy’s wife Jesinta revealed plans to relist the couples lavish Gold Coast mansion after it failed to sell at auction at the end of of 2024.

The power couple took the sprawling ‘Mediterranean’ style seven-bedroom home off the market in October after it passed in at auction for $11million.

With the auction price not meeting their reserve, Jesinta, 33, told Daily Mail Australia they plan to put their luxury property back on the market in 2025.

She said they will be looking for any buyers to snap up their family home for upwards of $11million.

‘We’ll relist in the New Year, it passed in at auction,’ the model explained.

‘It passed in for $11million, so if there’s anyone over $11million out there that wants a beautiful house on the Gold Coast, you know who to call!’

it comes after Buddy’s wife Jesinta (left) revealed plans to relist the couples lavish Gold Coast mansion after it failed to sell at auction at the end of of 2024 

Jesinta and Buddy famously smashed price records when they bought the Reedy Creek spread for $8.75million in 2022.

However, they are now selling up to try out the farm life with their kids – daughter Tullulah, three, and son Rocky, two.

The 2010 Miss Universe Australia winner admitted she and Buddy have not yet found their dream farmhouse, but are spending every weekend searching for the right plot.

‘We are looking at so many properties, we spend our weekends out in the country, driving and looking for land,’ she shared.

‘We haven’t found the perfect spot yet, but I feel like we’re getting close.

‘It’s really important to get the right piece of land for what we want to do and it’s really exciting.’

When they purchase their dream plot, the couple plan to build a luxury farmhouse on site with the help of Tidal Constructions, who constructed their Gold Coast home.

‘Tidal Constructions, who built the current home that we’re in, we’ve become such good friends with Ben and Dom, who run the company, and they’ve said that they’ll build the next place,’ she explained.

‘We’d like a luxury farmhouse, barn-style with lots of veggie gardens.’

Their stunning eight-bathroom Gold Coast spread covers a whopping 1096 square metres and features spectacular views of the nearby coastline.

Jesinta and Buddy previously sold their luxury pad in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for $5million to complete their move to the Gold Coast.