As lucrative as professional football is, some players aren't able to attain the same wealth when retiring, unless you're Mathieu Flamini or Louis Saha.
Let's check out the ultra rich retired ballers...
What's the story?
Excelling in football just wasn't enough for these super rich ballers, who have made a fortune in their various second careers that have set them up for life.
Footballers already make a healthy sum of cash during their playing days but some just aren't able to capitalise on that wealth and make it long lasting.
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Here's a look at three retired footballers who turned their career earnings into generational wealth...
Mega Rich retired footballers
A professional footballer's career may be short but it's as lucrative as any big-money industry, with players, globally earning millions and living sheer luxury.
Some players manage their finances poorly enough to go flat broke after retiring, while others manage to keep things ticking with their savings, or other new ventures in and outside the game.
As a player, knowing what to do with the money you make is paramount to living a comfortable life when hanging up your boots, and some players, without having the commercial pull of stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have built billionaire empires.
Starting with former Arsenal, AC Milan and Crystal Palace midfielder Mathieu Flamini. The Frenchman and his economics graduate business partner, Pasquale Granata, founded the company GF Biochemicals in the hope of trailblazing the energy industry.
Flamini has found great success with his other passion and it's been reported by UK publications that his company, 15 years after it was set up, is claimed to be worth £21 billion (Approx. R503 billion).
Sustainability has always been a passion of Flamini's and his company has invested millions in research, trials, infrastructure and employee fees, in the hopes of producing levulinic acid - a synthetic oil substitute made wood and corn waste.
They became the first company on the planet to be able to mass produce the acid, which can be used to replace oil in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, plastics, cosmetics and more, opening up a market that's worth billions of pounds, as stated by the Daily Mail.
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Another Frenchman who is enjoying his post-football riches is retired striker Louis Saha. The former Manchester United, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur star is one of the brains behind Axis Stars.
He dived straight into his business interests after retiring in 2013, starting Axis Stars with tech businessman and a former Manchester United marketing executive in starting the app.
Axis Stars is pretty much a social network for the wealthy and talented, Saha's business is reportedly worth around R83.9 billion.
It's aimed at professional sports stars, musicians, actors and agents, and claims to offer a safe space for elites to mingle and share tips and advice in a private app.
As per reports in Europe, Saha is said to have a staunch net worth of over R100 billion, also working as a motivational speaker among other business interests.
Former Aston Villa, Brentford and Celta Vigo midfielder Jota Peleteiro, who retired from football in 2022, is currently the head honcho of agricultural technology company Groinn, which employs 80 workers.
His company is in the process of entering a partnership with the Spanish government to provide digital agricultural aid and is on course to be worth well over $760 million (R14.2 billion) in 2025, according to UK reports.
Jota once told The Athletic that he fell out of love with football and that it was never about the money, but passion. Although he lost motivation for playing football at 32, he had his eyes set on a start-up company.
"When I was playing, I knew about Groinn, but I didn't have the time. It was a start-up under a different name that required funding (it was then called Ramalloc Innovation).
"I like taking risks and there were nervous times during the process. Once you develop the technology and it works, you will have spent millions but will get a lot more back. But if it doesn't work, you lose all your money," said Jota to The Athletic.
"I feel extremely proud because I know a lot of people were saying to me, 'This is crazy'. Now, these people are saying, 'Oh my word, this is making huge money,'" he added.
Groinn is a plantation system that monitors the status of crops and large fields. According to the Daily Mail, it works through sensors and can be accessed on any device, instructing when to water the plants, the nutrients they need and more.
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