From Grace To Grass; World Class Football Players Who Went Broke

Playing football comes with huge fame and money. And by the time a player retires, he should have earned enough money to set him up for life. Check world class football players who went broke.

Some footballers are known to invest their money in differrent businesses, for example Cristiano Ronaldo who has a chain of hotels and clothing brand.

However, there are several cases where players become broke after having made a fortune during their careers. Talk about drug and alcohol addition, divorce, bad investment, or poor financial management, all this play a big role in their downfall.

World Class Football Players Who Went Broke

1.Emmanuel Eboue

When renowned British media outlets broke the news of Emmanuel Eboue’s arrest, football fans wept for the former Arsenal fullback. Nobody believed the tragic scenario until Eboue provided an interview to The Mirror in which he detailed how his divorce from his Belgian wife, Aurélie, combined with a series of disastrous business investments, had rendered him insolvent.

2.Wilson Oruma

This guy was a Nigerian famous footballer who played at the top in the French league. He was among the young super eagle Under 17 Fifa World Cup of 1993 and a magical mid fielder during his prime.

Oruma, who played alongside JJ Okocha and Kanu was reportedly duped by a pastor and as we speak, he’s so broke that he has literally lost hope in life. According to multiple sources online, the former Super Eagles player lost a whopping sum of N1. 2 billion to an investment

3. Lee Hendrie

Former England player Lee lose his wealth in gambling addition and depression.Hendrie was declared bankrupt by HM Revenue and Customs in 2012, while playing for non-league Kidderminster Harriers. He had built up a property portfolio worth £10million but it all came to a head in 2010.

4. John Arne Riise

The former Liverpool full-back, who was understood to have earned well above £30,000 as a per week wage was listed as bankrupt on the government’s Insolvency terms. Riise had an unpaid debt, amounting to a sum of £100,000. The case was reported to have been linked to an alleged £3million fraud, back in Norway.

5. Taribo West

Taribo was a Nigerian internationally footballer who played in big teams such as Ac Milan, Inter Milan, and Derby County. It was that singular act of confidence that reportedly earned him the contract. Despite featuring for top sides in Europe such as AC Milan and Derby County Taribo West is said to be in financial deep waters as the millions he made during his playing days seems to have been ‘washed away

6. Paul Merson

The former Arsenal player Merson enjoyed a prosperous career during his days. And despite of earning millions, he was almost left homeless after suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. Aside from that he was also involved in a messy divorce.

READ:Top 10 Football Players That Love Gambling

7. Calestine Babayaro

He was part of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side that knocked Manchester United off their perch in the Premier League in early 2000s. The left-back was earning as much £25,000 per week in wages at the peak of his powers. However, Babayaro was declared bankrupt in 2011 after a failed move to MLS.