Footballers who have become successful entrepreneurs

These days, footballers are world superstars and mega rich. With the money that’s pumped into the beautiful game by all the tv and digital services, footballers rarely need a second career or business venture to keep them financially stable. However, that hasn’t stopped a number of well-known footballers. If they’re lucky, professionals may enjoy a career of about 15 years in the sport. But what happens once they’ve retired and they no longer spend their days lacing up the boots, realising not everyone can become coach or pundit? With lots of money and a brief playing career, it shouldn’t come to much of a surprise that many footballers are striking out as entrepreneurs.

One of the best examples of a football player who mixed things up both on and off the pitch with multiple businesses is precisely Neymar. The Brazilian superstar is the ambassador of some of the most popular brands in the world, including Nike, Gillette, Pokerstars and Panasonic. He has also built his own brand and logo, which he has been using in several products he has already launched in the market. The former Barcelona forward has also starred in Hollywood movies in recent years and we can certainly expect to see him exploring more businesses after he hangs up his boots.

Ashley Cole the former England left-back who amassed over 100 caps for his country and an integral part of the Chelsea and Arsenal title-winning teams, teamed up with Hip Hop Mogul Jay-Z to open restaurant and bar 40/40 in London. The multi-million-pound deal, brokered by NVA Agency’s Chris Nathaniel, is the first of many business ventures that will see Cole and Jay-Z work together on and is indicative of how the scope of the modern game has changed the opportunities available for players.

Mathieu Flamini, the former Arsenal and AC Milan midfielder, is currently in the process of saving the planet. Flamini with business parent Pasquale Granata in 2008 founded bioscience firm GF Biochemicals, which mass produces levulinic acid, a potential replacement for oil that can be used in plastics, solvents, fuels and the pharmaceutical industry. GF Biochemicals is reportedly estimated to be worth £18 billion. Yes, that’s right, the man who couldn’t get a game at Selhurst Park could become one of the most powerful men in the world.

Robbie Fowler a Kop Legend, who scored 183 goals and won 5 trophies for his hometown club has managed to establish himself as quite the property mogul over the last couple of decades. Fowler reportedly owns nearly 100 homes and apartments with an estimated value of £31m. In 2005 Fowler was featured on the Sunday Times rich list of the 1000 wealthiest people in Britain and says the smartest move he made was as an 18-year-old getting a financial adviser following a recommendation by his first manager Graeme Souness.

Sources: independent.co.uk / theguardian.com