Given the vast sums commanded by footballers at the top of their game in Europe's most competitive leagues, few can imagine players getting into dire financial straits.
But where clubs awarded talented young players stratospheric salaries, financial mismanagement or lavish, out of control spending can quickly follow, and a number of stars have seen their fortunes fall as rapidly as they once rose.
Earlier this week it was revealed that ex-Manchester United player Wes Brown was declared bankrupt at 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 bankruptcy revelations from Brown and Bellamy, Mail Sport looks at other world-class talents that have seen their finances hit rock bottom.
ERIC DJEMBA-DJEMBA
The Cameroon international was signed to Manchester United in the summer of 2005 in a blaze of glory, as he was dubbed the heir to Roy Keane's throne. 18 months later, shaky form forced a move to Aston Villa.
But Eric Djemba-Djemba's inability to see success in England was likely tied to his financial woes.
Despite making £75,000-a-month at Old Trafford and sealing a £1.5million transfer to Villa, the midfielder was getting by on his playing bonuses and celebrity appearance fees after poor financial management.
His agent later said the player had 'no notion of money', having opened over 30 different bank accounts as he frittered money on designer clothes, interior decor, and paying off his 10 SUVS. The player declared bankruptcy in 2007.
Djemba-Djemba saw out the next 11 years of his career in globe-trotting style, as he sought to recoup his losses with spells in Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Serbia, Scotland, India and Indonesia.
JOHN ARNE RIISE
The same year as Djemba-Djemba's bankruptcy declaration, John Arne Riise followed suit, just two years after winning the Champions League with Rafael Benitez's Liverpool side.
The Norwegian raked in approximately £50,000 a week at the time, but was beset with financial concerns.
Riise locked in a legal battle with his former agent Einar Baardsen over his fortune and investments in a string of failed businesses, the player going through an alleged £3m fraud investigation in his home country.
Riise left Liverpool for Roma the following year on a £4.4million deal, but returned to the Premier League with a spell at Fulham from 2011 and 2014.
After wrapping up his playing career, Riise transitioned into management and now coaches Norwegian side Avaldsnes.
But in the intervening years, Riise has been embroiled in more financial troubles, most recently filing for bankruptcy with his company Alle Skal Med AS several times between 2019 and 2020
ROYSTON DRENTHE
Royston Drenthe's filing for bankruptcy in 2020 – which he said at the time failed to shock him – capped a checkered career that saw the gifted Feyenoord youth prospect fail to shine at Real Madrid and Everton and wind up his playing time at a sixth-division side in Spain.
Drenthe became seduced by the party lifestyle as one of Madrid's galacticos on a £2.4million-a-season salary, and subsequently squandered his purported £3.2million fortune as the years rolled on.
As well as opening a clothing store called Swag with former Feyenoord midfielder Michel Poldervaart in Rotterdam, Drenthe invested in an ill-fated rap career under the moniker Roya2Faces and dabbling in acting.
After a hiatus from the game between 2016 and 2018, Drenthe joined Sparta Rotterdam to fire the side's successful promotion bid that year, but was released as the club returned to the Eredivisie.
The 36-year-old is now a healthcare worker caring for patients with dementia, and says that his career change has 'helped him become a better person in this society'.
RONALDINHO
Brazilian legend Ronaldinho was found to have just £5 to his name in 2018 after authorities investigated his accounts over debts of £1.75million, despite many putting his net worth at over £67m, years after his lucrative playing spells at Barcelona and AC Milan.
The legendary star earned £5.1m a year when he signed for the Milanese club in 2008, not including the bonuses tipping the wage past the six-million mark, but speculation grew that despite the big-money moves and endorsement deals with Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and EA Sports that totalled more than £15.3m ($19m), Ronaldinho was tapped out.
The silky forward was almost jailed a year later after he failed to pay a £2m environmental fine and other debts that saw 57 of real estate properties confiscated to cover the debts.
But it was a year later that the law caught up with Ronaldinho, after a pair of doctored passports used by the player and his brother to sneak into Paraguay as the guests of a local casino owner sent the storied Brazil international for a one-month stint in a Paraguayan prison – during which time Ronaldinho competed in, and won, the jail's futsal tournament.
DAVID JAMES
The former England No 1 may have earned over £20m from star turns between the sticks at Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Manchester City but in 2014, James was forced to file for bankruptcy and begin the difficult task of auctioning off his possessions.
James, who made £50,000 a week at cash-rich Portsmouth after a move to the south coast in 2006, is said to have begun accruing debts in the wake of his divorce from his wife Tanya in 2005.
Among the possessions that James was forced to part with were DJ equipment and vinyl records, signed match balls, a customised Vauxhall Astra van, a Power Plate exercise machine, and his collection of 1970s Raleigh Chopper bikes.
Since his 2014 retirement, James has explored his creative side, painting in his free time and illustrating a children's book.
BRAD FRIEDEL
American shot-stopper Brad Friedel first attempted a move into English football in 1993 but was initially denied a work permit, finally making it with a transfer to Liverpool in 1997.
Friedel found his feet at Blackburn Rovers, were his salary mushroomed to £40,000-a-week at its peak. But in 2011, the goalkeeper – then of Aston Villa – had to file for bankruptcy after accruing over £5m-worth of debts.
The source of the financial crisis was Friedel's non-profit academy, Premier Soccer Academies, in his home state of Ohio, which was launched from an £8m ($10m) facility.
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, corporate sponsors began to drop out and banks began recalling loans.
After his retirement in 2015, Friedel had a spell managing MLS side New England Revolution, but now works as a football agent.
DIEGO MARADONA
As much existing as an emblem of prodigious talent as a flypaper for decadences, Diego Maradona was likely prepared for a visit from the taxman after a period of the highest excesses during his time in Napoli.
What might have been a shock, however, was the amount. The Italian Tax Authority came calling for repayments to the tune of £42m in 2009 in unpaid taxes during his time at the Serie A outfit.
The Argentine legend, who was deified in his adopted city after delivering a raft of silverware to the Napoli trophy cabinet during his seven-year stint, earned a salary of approximately £2.4m ($3m) a year, and far more in endorsements as a globally-recognised icon.
His fortunes were restored – more than – leaving his family to scrap over a £150m estate in the wake of his death in 2020, but the playmaker is said to have 'died poor', with just £75,000 in his bank account after his passing.