Top 10 Millionaire Footballers Who Retired Broke [ Poor ]

Footballers Who Retired Broke/poor. Football is a very lucrative sport. There’s no doubt about that. Footballers are known to spend vacations on yachts and cruise in flashy cars.

The influx of money into football as a result of the increase in the sport’s popularity has led to a massive increase in players’ salaries. And salaries will only be on the rise. By the time a player retires, he should have earned enough money to set him up for life. He should have no problem financially.

Some footballers are known to invest their money in different businesses. Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, has a chain of hotels as well as an underwear and clothing brand. That is a man that’s thinking of life after football, right? There are several cases where players become broke despite earning exorbitant salaries during their playing days. Talk about poor financial management. Or not. Some ended up being broke as a result of divorce. Well, let’s take a quick look at Top 10 Millionaire Footballers Who Retired Broke [ Poor ]

#10. Ronaldinho - Brazil

Throughout his career, he was deployed as a forward, a winger, although he usually played as a classic no 10 in an attacking midfield role. Ronaldinho was very successful as a footballer as is one of those footballers you’d never imagine would go broke. He’s a total genius and has two FIFA World Player of the Year awards as well as two Ballon d’Or awards to show for it. And he played for top clubs such as Barcelona and AC Milan. So money shouldn’t be a problem for him.

Ronaldinho is popular for his extravagant style which is mostly the reason for his bankruptcy. He was also heavily fined for illegal construction in a protected area in Brazil. And there were reports he had only £5 in his bank account sometime in 2018.

Top 10 Millionaire Footballers Who Retired Broke [ Poor ]

#9. Paul Merson - United Kingdom

Originally a forward, Merson enjoyed success as an attacking midfielder and playmaker later in his career. He played for a number of clubs, of which Arsenal is one of them. He earned a sizeable amount of money and should have enoughy money to set him up for life. Or so we thought.

There are very few things that burn money faster than gambling, alcohol, and drugs. And yet, Paul Merson did all three of them and blew a staggering £7 million fortune as a result. His first marriage crumbled under his recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism. Merson was involved in a car crash with a lorry on the M40 near Warwick, UK, and arrested for drink-driving sometime In 2011. He’s now in a good place as he’s currently a pundit for Sky Sports and he gave an interview about how gambling addiction has affected his life. He was praised for being honest in the interview.