From Hero to Zero: Top Ten+1 Players who lost everything

The subjects of peoples’ jealousy towards athletics and sportsmen have always been the fame and millions of money they make. Football particularly has proven to be a crazy sport for the money of recent talking players’ wages and transfer fees. Footballers live luxurious lives courtesy of the huge pay tickets they earn weekly or periodically. This is not to include the image rights and sponsorship deals some of them are fortunate to get from multimillion dollar companies for adverts and promotion reasons. However, life can be as ironical as anything you may think of. It’s both unbelievable and surprising that some of these highly rated individuals could still end up being poorer than common men. I for one believed many of them spend the money they earn very unwisely and lavishly that they sometimes forget their career doesn’t promise a lifetime flow of honey. Although a career of approximately 20 years or maybe more and the huge weekly pay that accompany them should be enough to manage their lives for a lifetime, especially the reasonable ones among them, but for many reasons, some footballers have shown they could be back to grass from the projection of grace. Here are a few footballers that went viral and ‘famous’ for going bankrupt after years of exotic lives and luxuries;
Eric Djemba Djemba

Though a Cameroonian, this man plied his football trade really well and interestingly in Europe to earn the big wage tickets. Any Manchester United fan that disagree this player ever played for the Red Devils under Sir Alex Ferguson would be forgiven because of his oblivion regime at the club. In fact, his stay at Manchester United could be called unsuccessful but that doesn’t stop the wage. This guy has loads of exotic cars, luxuries, 30 different bank accounts, juggles between credits, and his agent once said it usually take him four hours per day to work on his account.
It was as if his signatures for Aston villa drained the cash in 2007. He is no more collecting the 75,000 Pound monthly wage in Manchester and he struggles to maintain the huge spending life. He is now a really poor man, although still playing his football in Indian super league as Chennaiyin FC midfielder.
Keith Gillespie

A British football and another broke football player having some link with Manchester. He was one of the golden generation of Manchester United that featured in Youth cup winning team of 1992 alongside the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. He proceeded to Newcastle United where he reached champion league final and earned 80 caps for the Northern Ireland national side. Despite his glittering career, he was declared bankrupt at 35 after losing as much as 7.2 million pounds on gambling and failed business attempts. Unlucky Keith right? Not so unlucky because he realized his mistakes and taught other footballers a rare lesson with his publication “How Not To Be A Football Millionaire”. He regretted his life as he boldly said in an interview that he blew his money on gambling. Sorry Keith… We got the lesson.
Paul Gascoigne

A compound name in British football but featuring here for the very wrong reasons. The 47 years old is wracked by booze and pills. The football legend admitted that he cannot survive without a pint, and he is always hooked on mixes and valium and strong lager. He is terribly broke and appear drunk in front of fans on many occasions. He avoided being declared bankrupt by a London high court in 2011 although he was in debt of around 32,000 Pounds.
Sometimes the drunk could see the light and smell himself, he burst into tears in front of as much as 500 people at a charity event in 2015, but he was ushered off shaking his heads and trembling. Too late for you Gascoigne.
David James

English footballers seem not the best when it comes to managing funds and their lives. A popular goalkeeper and one of the best during his illustrious career in Portsmouth, Manchester city, Liverpool and a couple others, he made roughly 20 million Pounds during his 25 years goalkeeping career. The now 46 years old was declared bankrupt in 2014 as he build up debts after a reported divorce with his wife in 2005. He secured really lucrative contracts during his career including working as a model. But now… James is broke.
John Arne Riise

If you are a premier league fan, you will definitely remember this long range shot specialist left back. He had interesting times in Liverpool as well as Fulham and transferred out of English football at some point to Italy (Roma). The former Liverpool man wouldn’t have featured on this list but for poor business decisions. He was declared bankrupt the same year he was 30,000 pounds per week in Merseyside over a debt of 100, 000 Pounds. Riise went ahead to sue his agent over the way he invested his money, and he currently plays in APOEL Nicosia with the hope of bouncing back. Good luck to you John.
Diego Maradona

Maradona has cemented himself as a controversial man on and off the pitch, picking fights and opening mouths when silence would have been golden. He has got some questions to answer about how well he has managed the money he earned from his glorious shining football career. He earned so much that he was declared to have a log of 37 million Euros unpaid tax and other allegations summing up the huge against him by Italian authorities in 2009. Of these, he has just paid 42,000 Euros, a set of earing and two luxury watches. His woes got piled in 2010 after losing his job as Argentinian football coach owing to poor performance at the world cup. For a year or more (2011-2012), he managed a Dubai based club, AL-Wasi FC but that is not even enough to say he is out of his woes just yet.
Paul Merson

This is a compound name in English football gambling, predictions and punditry of recent, but before now, he has played football on the big stage. He played as a right winger for Arsenal for 12 years, meaning that he played most of his career at the club. Following his retirement, he joined the bandwagon of drinking and gambling. He drank that he crashed and got arrested for it as well as gambled to the extent of gambling his house to be left homeless in 2008. He reportedly lost nothing less than 11 million dollars to his various wealth sucking demons and is currently trying to get his life together now by working for sky sports.
Celestine Babayaro

A former Nigerian professional who also played in top clubs in Europe including Chelsea FC, he lived really flamboyant and extravagant lives in the pool of his money until financial crises came. He earned up to 25,000 Pound weekly at the peak of his career but that will not be enough to save him from imminent bankruptcy. He was declared bankrupt at a Croydon court in 2010, with a confirmation to follow after a year. Even his neighbors testified that his beautifully kept house is now really unkempt. Despite all accusations, he has debunked the talks of his brokenness severally. Whom are you deceiving Celestine???
Lee Hendrie

This guy also feature on the list of football professionals who have lost it all in recent times courtesy of his bad property investment, costing him up to 10 million Pounds loss. He played more than a decade in the premier league with Aston Villa and after parting ways with Villa in 2007, he became a journeyman, playing in ten different clubs within the space of six years. He was declared bankrupt officially in 2012 but he has since tried to take his life twice at a time although it seems not working. He even missed a compulsory court hearing where the judge issued his arrest warrant. Divorce also contributed to his woes as he reportedly tried suicide on two occasions. Sorry Lee, but you can keep trying. I am only convinced ‘YOLO’
Kenny Sansom

Arguably the best left full back in the history of English football team, only Ashley Cole has surpassed his lengthy caps in the position. He played eight years in Arsenal and like many other losers, his wealth sucking demons are gambling, drinking and a terrible divorce with his wife. He went completely penniless in 2013, and despite working at the emirates, he became homeless at some point. He was rumored to have contemplated suicide on in 2016. That’s why you need to drink and do things responsibly Sansom!
Emmanuel Eboue

The French speaking ex-arsenal right back is probably the latest of many footballers who have gone from hero to zero through divorce and marital disruption after losing a terrible divorce battle to his ex-wife which means all his asset goes to her. 2017 definitely did not end well with guy as he has to battle divorce with his British wife where court hearing that follows his prosecutions means that he lost everything to his ex-wife. Emmanuel Eboue like others reportedly contemplated suicide but he has been rescued to earn a living at least via a job role in Galatassaray where he played football of recent. You are in a difficult situation but just get yourself together Manuel.