Footballers are prone to bankruptcy due to how much they earn from such a young age. There's little time to develop financial literacy before the money arrives for a player earning £100K+ a week just moments after they turn 18 years old.
A typical playing career lasts maybe 8-15 years, and it can end instantly with a bad injury. This means players do not adjust their spending habits and can often be spending millions a month when they have little to no income.
Cars, watches, houses, entourages, nightlife all cost money and if players are not careful, even the biggest names can go from being a multimillionaire to having absolutely nothing.
Huge names such as Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho, Royston Drenthe and Carlton Cole have faced similar issues and now, Roberto Carlos has revealed that he faced major money issues when he was younger.
“I had problems with people who emptied my bank account. I lost 99% of everything I earned from football," he revealed at the Portugal Football Summit in Lisbon.
"I had a very serious family problem. On Thursday, I went to bed at midnight and on Friday, I received a pile of documents I knew nothing about. That’s when I realised I had lost my entire history.
“I made mistakes, and therefore, I ask younger players not to do the same. I always thought about future plans after my playing career."
Carlos added: “It’s about building a history as a player and leveraging your image. When I decided to leave football, I already had my sporting director’s licence and was working with many brands.”
Carlos now works as a football ambassador for Real Madrid and does similar ambassadorial work for FIFA around youth talent development and grassroots initiatives as keeps busy at 53 years old, 14 years after he retired in 2012.