Sunday Oliseh: Super Eagles Legend Explains Why Footballers Go Bankrupt After Retirement
- There has been an ongoing discussion over former professionals going bankrupt a few years after retirement
- Nigerian football legend Sunday Oliseh has shed light on the incident, explaining the reason for the incident
- The AFCON 1994 winner retired in 2006 after a short stint with Belgian club KRC Genk and lives in Europe
Nigerian football legend Sunday Oliseh has shared his thoughts on why professional footballers go bankrupt years after retirement amid ongoing discussions about the incident.
Professional football careers span about 15 years on average, and many top stars in the past have blown away the majority of their earnings, resorting to public outcries.
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One of the most recent high-profile examples was Ivorian footballer Emmanuel Eboue, who lost all his career earnings after ignorantly signing it off to a former partner.
Oliseh explains why players go bankrupt
Oliseh, speaking in an interview with News Central TV, has opened up on the big discussions about professional footballers going bankrupt after retirement.
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He claimed that people do not understand that the most challenging time for professional athletes is after their active years because they believe they have made a lot of money.
He added that the years post-retirement are longer than the active years, hence requiring a lot to live on if such people do not work again throughout their lives.
“Statistics have shown that 40% of soccer players 5 years after retirement go bankrupt. I think that statistic is about 73% after 10 years, that's huge,” he said.
Money Nest confirmed this statistic from Oliseh, putting it that investments go wrong, betting, extravagant lifestyles, divorce and failed relationships as some of the reasons.
“The reason why we struggle is because for my generation to reach the top and play there, you must have started at a very young age, that means it's the only job you know,” he added.
“It's a job that from 30+ you can't do it anymore, and you retire around 34. If God blesses you, you live till 70, which means you have 36 more years to live. It must have been a miracle to have amassed enough to carry yourself for 36 years to live.”
“You need to be fortunate to have a job or create a means for revenue to come in that will last you, and it's not easy,” he concluded.
The former Super Eagles captain had a career that spanned 15 years. He retired in 2006 and had multiple coaching spells, including the Nigerian national team job.
Oliseh praises Ademola Lookman
Legit.ng reported that Sunday Oliseh praised Ademola Lookman as one of the best players in the world in his position ahead of the CAF Men's Player of the Year Award.
Lookman joined Oliseh and co on the list of Nigerian footballers to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or this year, finishing 14th on the list in his first year at the gala.
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