It is a known fact that famous football players have a fat wallet. They own expensive houses, ridiculous yachts, and fast cars, so at times it really seems like they have everything.
To spice up their lives and get a needed adrenaline dose, some of them turn to gambling in popular casinos. While ordinary people gamble with lower amounts, football players invest thousands on a game.
Some enjoy putting their luck to the test so much that they even win and lose millions. Here are four famous footballers who love to gamble.
Michael Chopra
Chopra is a former professional footballer who scored more than 100 goals for Cardiff, Ipswich Town, and several other teams. This striker from Newcastle spent a lot of time on the bus with his team, where he started to gamble to kill time. He was only 17 when he developed a taste for gambling, and soon he began to bet with as much as £30,000 per wager.
As he became hooked on the game, he invested more and more money, but luck wasn’t on his side. He wasn’t even 25 years old when he owed debtors £80,000. Instead of giving up and paying his debts, he was convinced that his losing streak will soon come to an end. It didn’t so Chopra ended up owing more than £2 million.
Finally, when his gambling habits affected his lifestyle, he had to seek professional help to overcome his addiction.
Dietmar Hamann
This footballer has played for Bayern Munich, Newcastle United, Liverpool, and Manchester City mostly in a defensive midfield position. While he was at Anfield he began to gamble, and mostly bet on cricket games.
In his book ‘The Didi Man’ he explained how he lost £288,400 in a game where South Africa played against Australia. Then he learned that you should only bet on what you can afford to lose, which is a piece of advice he shares with his fans.
Therefore, if you click here and choose an online casino you wish to play in, don’t follow Hamann’s footsteps, at least when it comes to gambling.
Dominic Matteo
A famous former Liverpool player had a career that spanned close to 20 years. Although he was a passionate gambler, not many people knew about his vice. In fact, Matteo was so embarrassed by his losses, that he hid his addiction even from his closest family members.
He wanted to win big so badly, that he ended up penniless in 2015. That year he was declared bankrupt, which is only one year after he returned to Leeds United in a new role as a Football Ambassador.
In his book he admitted having run-up over £1,000,000 in gambling debts. Nowadays, Matteo runs a club in his hometown and often appears on local TV stations where he advises viewers to bet minimally and avoid drugs.
Paul Merson
Merson won the Football League Championship twice with Arsenal and helped Middlesbrough gain promotion to the Premier League in 1997/1998. Since he was a top player he earned more money than his teammates.
Unfortunately, he didn’t spend it wisely, since he combined gambling with drugs. He would even gamble £60,000, £80,000 or more, and when he lost he turned to drugs and alcohol. Instead of researching teams or betting on ones he knew something about, he called bookies and made random bets.
His gambling addiction was so bad, that at one point he lost his friends and almost everything he owned. After receiving proper help, he managed to get his life back on track and today works as a pundit on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.
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