Brian Deane on Breakfast

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Mad Mick

Mad Mick

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Just seen Deano on Breakfast TV talking about the huge amounts of money they have lost on investments. They just wanted to play football and invest in their future. Some are facing bankruptcy and losing their homes. Danny Murphy mentioned he lost 4 to 5 million in these investments. I am a retired IFA, and we used to say to clients, "If it looks too good to be true, it usually is". Very sad. I just wonder what the FCA has been doing about all this.
 

Problem for footballers and any sports person is that whilst they have a gift to be able to do what they do for a living, there is a good chance that a large per percentage of them probably aren't going to be the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to finances and investments. Some will be brighter than others obviously, but some would struggle to make themselves a sausage sandwich (Brian Deane always struck me as an intelligent lad).

Being ripped off can happen to anyone even seasoned business men who invest (story in the news yesterday about a the Vashi luxury jewellery retailer and Vashi Dominguez, and he pulled the wool.over many before he absconded with £170m), but high paid footballers with a considerable amount of money to invest, are ripe for the crooks and charlatans who have no problem screwing people over.

I feel sorry for those ripped off as I would anyone who has lost money through the dishonesty of others, but sometimes people just the the flashing pound signs, and get influenced too easily in parting with what they already have.
 
Keen Blade said:
I don't think sympathy for wealthy footballers will be anything like that for Post Office victims or frail old couples like my wife's parents who , with limited means , were conned out of their life savings by organised fraudsters.
Click to expand...

I imagine that it's a massive difference between the pre- and post-Premier league era players.
 
Keen Blade said:
I don't think sympathy for wealthy footballers will be anything like that for Post Office victims or frail old couples like my wife's parents who , with limited means , were conned out of their life savings by organised fraudsters.
Click to expand...
As this article says it's not necessarily huge earners but early days of the premier league which while they were big earners it probably wasn't quite enough money to retire at 33 as was more common then.
Brian Deane said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Premier League players lost millions in investments

Danny Murphy, Brian Deane and Craig Short are part of a group of footballers who say they are victims of "financial abuse".
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
 
Mad Mick said:
Just seen Deano on Breakfast TV talking about the huge amounts of money they have lost on investments. They just wanted to play football and invest in their future. Some are facing bankruptcy and losing their homes. Danny Murphy mentioned he lost 4 to 5 million in these investments. I am a retired IFA, and we used to say to clients, "If it looks too good to be true, it usually is". Very sad. I just wonder what the FCA has been doing about all this.
Click to expand...
You do wonder, I'm a financial advisor and have tried to reach out to sports teams, regulatory bodies to offer assistance with financial planning, especially footballers due to the different rules around pensions etc but get nowhere with it unfortunately
 
I’m sure I remember Keith Gillespie talking about the film industry tax dodge a few years back. He lost a fortune as well, so I’m not sure why this story didn’t break years ago.
 
There was a great 30 for 30 documentary about sports stars in the US doing the same thing. 60 percent of NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. 78 per cent of NFL players are bankrupt or under severe financial pressures two years after retirement. Some of it is down to bad choices, drugs, whores etc, but athletes are often targeted as easy marks by grifters. Former Brown's QB Bernie Kosar features prominently in the film as he lost millions in bad investments.
I remember seeing premier league footballers spending 20 grand on champagne in Marbella that they just sprayed everywhere. Unsurprisingly, one of them later went bankrupt after the money stopped coming in.
 
YES Blade said:
To me there is very little difference to an old lady getting scammed out of her life savings and a ex pro footballer getting scammed by a “financial advisor”.
Click to expand...
Big difference, old people dont understand modern financial management. A lot of these players lived and breathed football from a young age, often to the exclusion of more important matters like a decent basic education.
Furthermore, once they're at a club, they're cocooned from basic everyday concerns. I remember Phil Neville saying that one of the first things he had to learn when he retired was how to make himself a coffee - everything had been done for him previously!!!
 

Silent Blade said:
Big difference, old people dont understand modern financial management. A lot of these players lived and breathed football from a young age, often to the exclusion of more important matters like a decent basic education.
Furthermore, once they're at a club, they're cocooned from basic everyday concerns. I remember Phil Neville saying that one of the first things he had to learn when he retired was how to make himself a coffee - everything had been done for him previously!!!
Click to expand...

No one is taught financial management in school and certainly not management of multi million pound income. How are these players supposed to learn that? Some other players possibly had family support, but not everyone will have that.

Very harsh to blame players who trusted the wrong people when they were just trying to make sure they had a decent amount of money set aside to live on during retirement.
 
I know someone who got to know Deano very well. Seems a very intelligent and nice person, but a bit odd. Some very interesting stories to tell about his time at the Lane.
 
Silent Blade said:
Big difference, old people dont understand modern financial management. A lot of these players lived and breathed football from a young age, often to the exclusion of more important matters like a decent basic education.
Furthermore, once they're at a club, they're cocooned from basic everyday concerns. I remember Phil Neville saying that one of the first things he had to learn when he retired was how to make himself a coffee - everything had been done for him previously!!!
Click to expand...
What a strange comment - both are groups of people that have been taken advantage of.

And I'm not sure a "decent basic education" includes complex investment schemes; if it did then why can't old people get educated on this too? I'm degree-level educated and I'd need help with it all, so I'm not sure on why there is this onus on ex-pro footballers to not need financial advice.
 
If you're a footballer you're at a disadvantage when you retire as you don't have another trade. You're not qualified for any job except maybe coaching. The silver lining is that as a pro footballer today you can expect to bank enough during your career to survive on investments. Lose those investments and you're worse-off than a plasterer or teacher. No job, no income and no qualifications.
 
Weasel said:
Problem for footballers and any sports person is that whilst they have a gift to be able to do what they do for a living, there is a good chance that a large per percentage of them probably aren't going to be the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to finances and investments. Some will be brighter than others obviously, but some would struggle to make themselves a sausage sandwich (Brian Deane always struck me as an intelligent lad).

Being ripped off can happen to anyone even seasoned business men who invest (story in the news yesterday about a the Vashi luxury jewellery retailer and Vashi Dominguez, and he pulled the wool.over many before he absconded with £170m), but high paid footballers with a considerable amount of money to invest, are ripe for the crooks and charlatans who have no problem screwing people over.

I feel sorry for those ripped off as I would anyone who has lost money through the dishonesty of others, but sometimes people just the the flashing pound signs, and get influenced too easily in parting with what they already have.
Click to expand...
Very true also doesn't help that the vast majority can retire in their mid 30's or earlier. That's at least 20-30 years before "ordinary people" and its managing funds to manage a lifestyle. Realistically on £30,000 a week after tax you will be on around £68,720 a month. Say you got that over a 10 year period. You could easily have a decent house within a year mortgage free, and spending circa £8,000 a month you still would have enough for £500,000 in savings. You could then take a decent amount out of this each month as a "pension" however you would have to adjust your lifestyle, possibly downsize your house. Quite often the case is lifestyle adjustments. Danny Murphy lived (not sure if he still does) in a multi million pound house in Harrogate, although a pundit with the BBC it would take some upkeep
 
Keen Blade said:
I don't think sympathy for wealthy footballers will be anything like that for Post Office victims or frail old couples like my wife's parents who , with limited means , were conned out of their life savings by organised fraudsters.
Click to expand...
There is of course no equivalence between the Post Office scandal and what’s happened to an apparently substantial number of ex-footballers, but it is possible to sympathise with both. Watching Deano on BBC Breakfast, I really felt for him.
 
There's so much money sloshing around in the top leagues and the amounts of money being talked about in transfer fees is obscene.
I don't find it too surprising that a few unscrupulous advisers will promote 'too good to be true' schemes which in reality feather the nests of the advisers.
I would think current players need to be way more careful than they were back in the 90s and it's to be hoped that they receive good counselling from their agents/clubs. Some of them come into exceptionally good money whilst very young and I imagine it's very easy for them to be led astray. They need to choose their advisers very carefully
 
It is very sad because anyone earning at PL (and probably Championship) level should be secure for life.

You buy your property or properties, then you budget. You can go for low risk investments. If you have millions you can live off the interest, for crying out loud.

The PFA try to educate young players, and many clubs do too, which is a good thing.
 
Silent Blade said:
Big difference, old people dont understand modern financial management. A lot of these players lived and breathed football from a young age, often to the exclusion of more important matters like a decent basic education.
Furthermore, once they're at a club, they're cocooned from basic everyday concerns. I remember Phil Neville saying that one of the first things he had to learn when he retired was how to make himself a coffee - everything had been done for him previously!!!
Click to expand...
These are all very valid reasons as to why you should feel sorry for them. What a strange attitude.
 
As always, if it seems too good to be true, avoid it! Unfortunately greed takes over with some and they lose a lot of money as a result. Many sharks in the financial industry willing to take a punt with your money. Even in the early 90s, footballers earned a decent living and were hardly desperate to make money, unless they had a gambling habit or something else that is draining their resources. Just use ISA, savings accounts and get a decent IFA, one who is reputable. It isnt hard to find one.

I worked in the financial industry for 15 years until 2021 and have heard many stories where people were taken in by what anyone with half a brain could tell was a scam. One old fella we worked with was trying to transfer his 700k FS pension into a DC pension so he could access TFC that he was then gong to invest into a 'film company'. He said he was going to double the amount within 12 months. Red flags all over and our IFA refused to recommend a transfer and rejected the insistent client approach. Client went to ombudsman to complain and our decision was upheld. A year or two later we heard that this 'film company' had gone tits up. Some people need saving from themselves.
 
I know I’m vastly underestimating the issue here, but in my simplistic way of viewing things:

If you’re a mid 30s ex prem footballer with 10M in the bank and someone approaches you with a scheme to turn that 10M into 20M and your answer isn’t ‘fuck off I’ve got enough money’

Then you’re a greedy bastard.
 
Many years ago, there was a footballer called Francis Lee. After training he used to go round in his lorry collecting waste paper. He then recycled it and made it into toilet paper. Made a fortune. Ended up owning Man City for a while. Multi millionaire.
Many of his mates went to the bookies, golf course, pub after training. These will be the ones struggling now.
 

Dkc said:
If you're a footballer you're at a disadvantage when you retire as you don't have another trade. You're not qualified for any job except maybe coaching. The silver lining is that as a pro footballer today you can expect to bank enough during your career to survive on investments. Lose those investments and you're worse-off than a plasterer or teacher. No job, no income and no qualifications.
Click to expand...


If you are a pro footballer, you have a fuck load of spare time to prepare for this eventuality.
 
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