Paul Burgess, who formulated his career as a groundsman at Bloomfield Road when he was a 14-year-old on work experience, is head groundsman at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Burgess was approached by the Spanish club in 2009 after concerns were raised about the state of "Los Blancos" pitch. At age 17, while studying at Myerscough College, he was offered a permanent job at Bloomfield Road, where he remained for eighteen months. After his spell at Blackpool, Burgess joined Arsenal as assistant groundsman in 1996. He was promoted to Highbury's head groundsman four years later. He remained in the position when "the Gunners" moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2006. A Blackpool fan, who used to sell programmes outside the ground on matchdays, on 22 May 2010 Burgess was working on the Bernabeu pitch for the Champions League Final while "the Seasiders" were playing in their Championship play-off Final at Wembley.