5 famous footballers who went broke after retirement
Playing football is a profession that rakes in a lot of money. The average footballer is expected to earn between $10,000 and $80,000 per month and that is why many players come across as rich people. However, it is not always rosy for these footballers, many of whom have their wages drastically reduced after tax.
But there are also others who genuinely earn a lot. It is very easy to attribute 7out of every 10 flashy cars you see on the streets to be being owned by a footballer. The truth, though, is that footballers, and all other athletes for that matter, have very limited time to play at the top.
The career of the average footballer spans between 10 and 15 years. As a result, those who are not able to save or invest enough during their playing days turn out to be miserable after hanging their boots.
In fact, there have been many cases in recent times of famous footballers who became broke after retirement. Here are five footballers who found themselves in such a situation:
#5 David James
Former England international David James was one of the most celebrated goalkeepers in his home country during his prime. James played for a host of Premier League clubs including Portsmouth, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Liverpool and Manchester City, before finishing his career in Iceland.
He was also a part of the England side that reached the quarter-final of the 2010 World Cup. However, despite all the wealth James made during his playing days, he ended up being broke after retirement. Following an expensive divorce with his wife in 2005, the goalkeeper’s finances took a downward spiral.
Back then he was forced to file for insolvency, but in May 2014, James was officially declared bankrupt. The situation was so bad that he had to auction some of his properties. He, however, began to rebuild his life by later taking up a punditry job at BT Sport.