Given the huge sums of money available to top footballers in Europe’s most competitive leagues, few can imagine players facing serious financial difficulties.
But where clubs award stratospheric salaries to talented young players, financial mismanagement or lavish spending can soon follow, and a number of stars have seen their fortunes plummet as quickly as ever.
It was revealed earlier this week that ex-Manchester United player Wes Brown had been declared bankrupt by the High Court despite reportedly earning £50,000 a week during his playing days at Old Trafford.
It follows former Liverpool star Craig Bellamy’s exclusive interview with Mail Sport, in which he confirmed he had also been declared bankrupt.
In the wake of revelations about the bankruptcy of Brown and Bellamy, Mail Sport looks at other world-class talents who have seen their finances plummet.
Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown (left) and ex-Liverpool star Craig Bellamy (right) have recently been declared bankrupt
ERIC DJEMBA-DJEMBA
The Cameroon international was signed to Manchester United in a blaze of glory in the summer of 2005 when he was named Roy Keane’s heir apparent. 18 months later shaky form forced a move to Aston Villa.
But Eric Djemba-Djemba’s inability to see success in England was probably related to his financial problems.
Despite earning £75,000 a month at Old Trafford and sealing a £1.5 million transfer to Villa, the midfielder made it through with his playing bonuses and celebrity appearances after poor financial management.
Eric Djemba-Djemba’s agent said the player had ‘no concept of money’ when he was thrust into the limelight at Manchester United
His agent later said the player had “no concept of money” after opening more than 30 different bank accounts while wasting money on designer clothes, interior decoration and paying off his 10 SUVs. The player went bankrupt in 2007.
Djemba-Djemba lived out the next 11 years of his career in globe-trotting style, as he tried to recoup his losses with bouts in Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Serbia, Scotland, India and Indonesia.
JOHN ARNE RIISE
The same year Djemba-Djemba went bankrupt, John Arne Riise followed suit, just two years after winning the Champions League with Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool side.
The Norwegian was raking in around £50,000 a week at the time, but was plagued by financial concerns.
Riise became embroiled in a legal battle with his former agent Einar Baardsen over his fortune and investments in a series of failed businesses, with the player going through an alleged £3 million fraud investigation in his home country.
John Arne Riise made a great move from Monaco to Liverpool in 2001 in a deal worth £4 million
Two years after winning the Champions League, Riise was in financial and legal trouble
Riise left Liverpool for Roma the following year in a £4.4 million deal, but returned to the Premier League with spells at Fulham from 2011 and 2014.
After completing his playing career, Riise moved into management and now coaches Norwegian side Avaldsnes.
But in the intervening years, Riise has been mired in more financial problems, most recently filing for bankruptcy several times between 2019 and 2020 with his company Alle Skal Med AS
ROYSTON DRENTHE
Royston Drenthe’s 2020 bankruptcy filing – which he said at the time did not shock him – marked the end of a checkered career in which the gifted Feyenoord youth failed to shine at Real Madrid and Everton and his playing time ended with a sixth division side. in Spain.
Drenthe became seduced by the party lifestyle as one of Madrid’s galacticos on a salary of £2.4 million per season, then squandered his alleged £3.2 million fortune as the years progressed.
Besides opening a clothing store called Swag with former Feyenoord midfielder Michel Poldervaart in Rotterdam, Drenthe invested in an ill-fated rap career under the name Roya2Faces and acting.
After a stoppage in play between 2016 and 2018, Drenthe joined Sparta Rotterdam to fire off the side’s successful promotion bid that year, but was released when the club returned to the Eredivisie.
The 36-year-old is now a healthcare worker who cares for patients with dementia, and says his career change has helped him “become a better person in this society.”
Royston Drenthe’s Feyenoord form failed to translate into LaLiga after pricey move to Madrid
RONALDINHO
Brazilian legend Ronaldinho was found to have just £5 to his name in 2018 after authorities examined his accounts for debts of £1.75 million, despite many having estimated his net worth at more than £67 million years after his lucrative spells at Barcelona and AC Milan.
The legendary star was earning £5.1 million a year when he signed for the Milan club in 2008, not counting bonuses that pushed wages above six million, but it was speculated that despite the big money moves and endorsement deals with Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and EA Sports grossing more than £15.3 million ($19 million) in total, Ronaldinho was tapped.
Ronaldinho’s retirement has been almost more colorful than his famous playing career
The silky-smooth attacker was nearly jailed a year later after failing to pay a £2 million environmental fine and other debts, leading to 57 properties being seized to cover the debts.
But it was a year later that the law caught up with Ronaldinho, after a pair of manipulated passports were used by the player and his brother to sneak into Paraguay when a local casino owner’s guests sent the legendary Brazil international for a month. in a Paraguayan prison – during which time Ronaldinho competed in the prison’s futsal tournament and won.
DAVID JAMES
The former England number 1 may have made more than £20 million from star changes between the sticks at Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City, but in 2014 James was forced to file for bankruptcy and embarked on the difficult task of auctioning his assets.
James, who was making £50,000 a week in wealthy Portsmouth after moving to the south coast in 2006, is said to have accumulated debt following his divorce from wife Tanya in 2005.
Among the possessions James had to part with were DJ equipment and vinyl records, autographed game balls, a custom Vauxhall Astra van, a Power Plate exercise machine and his collection of 1970s Raleigh Chopper bikes.
Since his retirement in 2014, James has explored his creative side by painting and illustrating a children’s book in his spare time.
David James was earning £50,000 a week in Portsmouth, but his circumstances began to unravel
BRAD FRIEDEL
American shot stopper Brad Friedel first attempted a switch to English football in 1993, but was initially denied a work permit and eventually made it with a transfer to Liverpool in 1997.
Friedel found his feet at Blackburn Rovers, where his salary at its peak skyrocketed to £40,000 a week. But in 2011, the goalkeeper – then of Aston Villa – was forced to file for bankruptcy after racking up more than £5 million in debt.
Brad Friedel’s ambitions to provide American youth prospects with free football development were thwarted by the 2008 financial crisis
The source of the financial crisis was Friedel’s non-profit academy, Premier Soccer Academies, in his home state of Ohio, which launched from an £8 million ($10 million) facility.
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, corporate sponsors began to drop out and banks began recalling loans.
After his retirement in 2015, Friedel had a stint as manager of MLS side New England Revolution, but now works as a football agent.
DIEGO MARADONA
A symbol of prodigious talent as well as a flypaper for decadence, Diego Maradona was probably prepared for a visit from the taxpayer after a period of the highest excesses during his time in Naples.
However, what might come as a shock was the amount. Italy’s tax authorities demanded refunds of £42 million in 2009 unpaid taxes during his time with the Serie A squad.
In 2009, Diego Maradona had a dazzling meeting with the Italian tax authorities about his legendary spell at Napoli between 1984 and 1991.
The World Cup winner was not known for his love of the quiet life during his stay in Naples
The Argentine legend, who was deified in his adopted city after delivering an array of silverware to the Napoli trophy case during his seven-year spell, earned a salary of around £2.4 million ($3 million) a year, plus much more to messages of support as a globally recognized icon.
His fortune was restored – more than – leaving his family to scrap more than a £150 million estate after his death in 2020, but the playmaker is said to have ‘died poor’, with only £75,000 in his bank account following his passing.