Even the scarcely believable wages of a professional footballer can not compensate for lousy financial advice. After former Blackburn and Australia captain Lucas Neill revealed struggles with controlling his football fortune, we look at some of the most notable footballers who have gone bankrupt down the years.
Footballers Who Have Gone Bankrupt
Lucas Neill
“I’ve won my freedom, but I feel like I’ve lost in life.”
Those are the words of former Blackburn and West Ham defender Lucas Neill, who avoided jail time this month after being declared bankrupt in the UK back in 2016.
One of the best Australians ever to play in the Premier League, Neill admitted he now has nothing to show for his almost 20-year playing career as a professional footballer, citing poor financial advice from people who he said were trying to take “little slices out of him.”
Just this month, he was found not guilty of purposefully hiding money from his bankruptcy proceeding at Preston Crown Court.
However, after having electricity cut from a rented home and being forced to move his children to more affordable education, Neill is now said to be working two jobs in order to settle his post-playing finances. One as a project manager for a digital firm, while he has also been coaching girls and women’s football.
Wes Brown
Among other high profile legal proceedings to conclude this year, former Manchester United defender Wes Brown had two separate entities file cases for bankruptcy against him.
Despite earning a reported £50,000-per-week at the very height of his 19-year career at United, Brown owed hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid tax to HMRC, while a car rental firm also reported unpaid fees.
After bringing the curtain down on his career in a final spell in the Indian Super League, the former England international was declared bankrupt within five years.
It’s sad to hear that Wes Brown has been declared bankrupt.
Unfortunately, sportsmen loosing all of their money is a familiar story.
I’ve always said a portion of the money they earn should be put into a form of a trust. pic.twitter.com/UK0ntvgMw2
— 𝘾𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙨 – aka Larry 🇾🇪 (@Cantona_Collars) April 20, 2023
Several reasons have been cited for his financial shortcomings, the most pertinent being a string of sizeable losses on property investments, while a figure close to Brown told the Mail that he was “trying to keep up with players who were on five or six times his wage.”
The likes of former team-mates Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick have reportedly reached out to lend a helping hand, while Marcus Rashford is believed to have offered him a cut-price on a rental home.
David James
For a player who sits fifth on the list of all-time Premier League appearances having played in 572 top-flight matches, it serves as an alarming reminder that job security doesn’t equal financial security.
Although the former England international has gone on to feature as a pundit for Sky Sports, BT Sports (now TNT Sports) and Eurosport, he declared bankruptcy nearly a decade ago.
This was likely compounded by a divorce from his wife Tanya, after which debts built up and he was forced to sell pieces of memorabilia from a decorated career that no doubt held sentimental value, along with customised Raleigh Chopers and a Vauxhall van.
Ronaldinho
You may remember wholesome pictures from 2020 showing many people’s childhood hero – Ronaldinho – playing football with fellow prison inmates. All the while with a customary beaming, albeit teethy smile.
However, before that ordeal he was involved in a separate incident with his brother. The former World Cup and Ballon D’or recipient was initially found guilty of illegally constructing on an environmental protection area in 2015.
Brazilian authorities deemed it necessary to seize his passport, with an outstanding payment of just under £2 million continuously ignored. He was later found to have less than £5 in his bank account after authorities caught up with his defaulting on payments.
Diego Maradona
Although he is believed to have held assets worth millions, Diego Maradona passed away in 2020 with less than £100,000 to his name.
The enigmatic Argentine is known to have led a colourful life, and his boisterous machismo often saw him throw lavish parties armed to the teeth with drugs and alcohol. This saw him squander most of what was previously a sizeable fortune, with people close to him revealing he was easily manipulated.
There is no doubting his legacy as a player, but off the field his manic personal life eventually caught up with him in 2009 after Italian tax authorities launched a full-scale investigation, handing him a £42m bill in unpaid fees. This prompted Maradona to file for bankruptcy.
Luckily in the latter stages of his tumultuous life, he is said to have earned $2.7 million from managing Dubai-based club Al-Wasl FC in 2011-12, as well as several stints across various teams in his native Argentina.
John Arne Riise
If only John Arne Riise’s financial will was as powerful as his left-foot…
On a serious note, Riise’s post-playing days have been littered with multiple filings for bankruptcy, although the first came whilst still plying his trade for Liverpool in 2007.
The former Norway left-back was embroiled in a £3 million fraud case, where he owed over £100,000 in unpaid debt despite regularly earning that figure in two week cycles at Liverpool.
He has since appeared on popular Norwegian TV show “Luksusfellen”, which explores the hardships of household names and their difficult financial situations. One such incident involved him being sued his ex-wife for removing funds attached to an account of his child.
Paul Merson
Now one of the most vocal advocates for gambling harm prevention, Paul Merson has made no secret of his struggles with betting-induced debt.
His bravery to come forward and speak on an issue that often carries a lot of stigma has been commendable. Merson even admitted that he once considered breaking his own fingers to stop himself from placing any more bets.
After breaking into his £800,000 pension to further fuel his addiction, the former Arsenal striker was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2007.
In the process, he is said to have been made homeless after having his home repossessed, all the whole losing around £7 million to gambling.
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