From heaven to hell! 7 footballers who went from rich to broke

Premier League footballers are often the highest paid footballers in the world with an estimated average wage of £30,000. In spite of being associated with a sport that generates huge amount of profits on a day-to-day basis, some footballers who’ve earned well during their playing career have ended up going broke due to some bad investments, gambling, messy divorces or other unnecessary spending.While some have done exceptionally well to recover from their debts, others still find themselves in the shackles of the monetary system. In this slideshow, we talk about 7 such footballers who went broke:

#1 Celestine Babayaro

Celestine Babayaro was part of the Dream Team that had won Nigeria the Atlanta Olympics Gold Medal in 1996, showing early glimpses of his talent.

The Former Chelsea and Newcastle full-back, in spite of earning £25,000 during the peak of his career, was declared as bankrupt at a court in Croydon in 2010 after being charged by the creditors with an official confirmation coming on 2011. 

The ex-Nigerian International’s financial problems were apparently spotted by his neighbours who had feared that the 32-year-old full-back is having a hard time dealing to finances, which saw him failing to keep his beautiful house in Shepperton, Middlesex, which was valued at £475,000.

A neighbour, who lives on the same street as Babayaro said, “You can tell the money’s difficult because the home used to be maintained really nicely, but now it’s a bit of a mess. You can see where the conservatory is starting to fall down and the garden is completely overgrown. They came and asked to borrow my lawnmower, but I had to say no because the grass was too long and would have broken it.”

#2 John Arne Riise

John Arne Riise playing for Liverpool.

With over 339 appearances for Liverpool, 132 appearances for AS Roma, 98 in the Fulham shirt and 116 for the Norway National Team, John Arne Riise is perhaps one of the last players you would imagine declaring themselves as bankrupt, given how settled he was. However, surprisingly he had declared bankruptcy in the year of 2007.

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. It is understood Riise was liable for the debts incurred from failed business enterprises, including a hotel. 

However, Riise had recently signed a two-year contract with a Cyprus club APOEL and will be hoping that his financial crisis takes a U-turn soon.

#3 Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona – the man of controversies

In terms of indicating financial debts, Diego Maradona would be on everyone’s list. The Legendary Argentine’s life has been surrounded with controversies, be it the “Hand Of God” in the FIFA World Cup at Mexico in 1986 or his numerous drug relapse cases.

In 2009, the Italian Authorities declared that Maradona owned  €37 million in unpaid taxes, penalties, charges and interest from his playing days in Napoli. He blamed the tax debt on some Napoli director who had failed to inform him promptly and was no more in Italy. Maradona also urged the lawmakers to restore the title of honor for all those who like him, who find themselves in the same condition.

Maradona, who had already deposited €42,000, 2 Rolex watches and a set of his earrings said he has not plans of visiting Italy until and unless such bill, by the lawmakers is passed.

In 2010, Maradona’s situation went from bad to worse as after he lost his job as Argentina’s National Coach due to their poor show in the situation. Managing AL- Wasl FC, a Dubai-based club from 2011-12, he made a reported amount of $2.7 million.

#4 David James

David James with the FA Cup while playing for Portsmouth.

David James declared himself bankrupt in May, 2014 after an estimated earning of £20m in his 25-year career. His debts starting building up, especially after a costly divorce with his wife in 2005.

James had 53 caps for England National Team and more than 800 senior appearances for teams like Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa, West Ham and Portsmouth, winning the League Cup and FA Cup but his rising problems on bankruptcy resulted in him selling his signed shirts, shorts and balls by an auctioneer Hilco at a sale registered in Kent.

An England shirt that James wore in the Three Lions’ 1-0 World Cup win over Argentina in 2002 fetched £672 while Liverpool FC goalkeeper's jersey worn during the Reds' 1995/96 season was sold for more than £160 and a Portsmouth No 1 top James wore in 2008 went for £480. Other goods which went for more than £100, approximately included a boxed and unused retro Raleigh Chopper bike.

Lately, David James has been serving as a player-manager for the Kerala Blasters in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League and is likely to be soon discharged from bankruptcy in a year.

#5 Eric Djemba-Djemba

Eric Djemba-Djemba playing for Manchester United.

Eric Djemba-Djemba was another player who called the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes as his teammates after being signed by Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford for £3.5 million from Nantes in 2003.

However, Djemba-Djemba was never one of those who could manage his money in the best possible way as his love for an expensive lifestyle with lavish cars and other luxuries were preceded by his desire to plan his finances out

The Cameroonian International who was earning £75,000 each month during his stay at Old Trafford declared himself as bankrupt in 2007 despite being rumoured to have owned 4 luxury cars and holding 30 different bank accounts.

Currently contracted to ISL side Chennaiyin FC, Djemba-Djemba will be looking to get back his life on the right track.

#6 Lee Hendrie

Lee Hendrie during his days at the Villa Park.

Lee Hendrie was one of the most promising English youngsters in the late 90’s. During the peak of his career, Hendrie played for Aston Villa earning £30,000 as wages. His 11 years at the club ensured 251 appearances for the Lions, netting 27 times and in the process, helped them to League Cup twice. He got his first and only England cap in 1998.

Hendrie, on the 27th of December 2012, was declared as bankrupt. The bankruptcy resulted due to some bad property deals where he lost an approximate sum of £10m and a lavish lifestyle to add to his misery. The divorce acted as another factor leading to Hendrie commit suicide not once but twice, fortunately for the world of football, he failed.

Presently, he’s a director of Footie Bugs, an activity programme for children aged from 3-9. He is also an Ambassador of Young Minds.

#7 Keith Gillespie

Keith Gillespie

With the start of his footballing career, Keith Gillespie was another player who had once shared the locker room with the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Paul Scholes, being a part of the “Golden Generation” who had won the Youth Cup in 1992. He was crucial in leading Newcastle United to the Champions League. With 80 caps for Northern Ireland, he is the country’s most celebrated player.

The year 2010 saw Gillespie being declared a bankrupt at the age of 35. According to the calculations given by Keith, he lost a sum of £7,215,875 during his professional career. Such an awful amount of money was lost through gambling over the years, some bad investments on property and involving himself in a film scheme.

With the passage of time, the former Manchester United player appears to have seen the errors he committed leading to the release of his biography titled, ‘How Not to be a Football Millionaire’. If ever found in need of some financial advice, the biography is an all worth it.