Sports
It’s like living on death row — Craig Bellamy on his battles
Craig Bellamy, a former Wales and Manchester City football player, has recently declared bankruptcy as a result of failed investments made on his behalf by the wrong people, leaving him with no property or car.
Bellamy warns young footballers that unscrupulous hucksters and ruthless opportunists are circling them just as they did him. He urges young players to be cautious and check everything, make sure the people advising them are regulated, and get their stuff audited by independent people, the equivalent of getting a second opinion.
Bellamy emphasizes the importance of players having their own responsibilities and learning to survive, as one day the club will not be there. Bellamy says the hurt of his financial ruin is due to the fact that he can’t get a mortgage, financially has no future, and can’t own anything.
He stresses the importance of young players’ learning to live in the real world and not to be distracted by money, adding that money would distract him to a point where he would lose his hunger and his ambition to want to get to the top.
Bellamy, who played for clubs including Liverpool, Manchester City, and Newcastle United, said he had never been a tax dodger, but had been pursued for unpaid taxes for some time. He said that bankruptcy was a relief because it meant he could start living again. “Everything I have had has been taken from me,” he said. “If you get the wrong people advising you, it all haemorrhages, it all dwindles.”
The former Wales international said that he wanted his story to serve as a warning to other players, urging them to check everything and ensure that the people advising them are regulated. He said that players needed to take responsibility for their finances, as one day the club would not be there and they would have to learn to survive in the real world.
“When I was a young player starting out at Norwich, my biggest fear was money. I was always wary of it. I didn’t want to end up with a lot of money but no career.”
Bellamy said that his focus was always on his football career and that he never chased money or material possessions.
He said that having nice things was nice, but it meant nothing to him. He also spoke of feeling guilty when people rang up asking for help, and said that he had helped someone get on their feet, only for them to rip him off. “They don’t ring me now. You don’t hear from them,” he said.
The 42-year-old said that he had trusted a friend with his finances, while he focused on his football career. He said that the idea had seemed sensible at the time, but it hadn’t worked out well for him. “As long as when I finish football, it’s taken care of… you trust me to do the football and I will trust you with everything else,” he said. “It didn’t work out well, put it that way. Not for me, anyway.”
Bellamy retired from football in 2014 and has since worked as a coach and pundit. He is currently studying for his UEFA Pro Licence and hopes to one day manage a football club.
“I have been living the last five or six years on Death Row,’ says Bellamy, ‘just waiting for someone to put me out. I have been waiting for the cell door to open and someone to say: “Today’s the day”. It’s like the feeling of not being able to look forward to anything. All the money I’ve earned, I can’t get a mortgage. Financially, I have no future. The hurt of that. I can’t own anything. Everything’s gone.
‘My life has been on hold. I’m not a tax dodger but I have been very naive and the HMRC have been pursuing me for unpaid tax for some time. Everything I have had has been taken from me. If you get the wrong people advising you, it all haemorrhages, it all dwindles. It has got to the point where bankruptcy is a relief. It means I can just live again.
‘I know some people will probably think I have squandered all my money on drinking or gambling or drugs. I haven’t. I can go quiet where you won’t hear from me but I won’t be down the pub. I have never touched drugs since I was a young kid. I don’t gamble. I have never gambled. It doesn’t make any sense to me. But I have gambled on people unfortunately.”
“I want this to be a warning to other players. ‘Check everything, make sure the people advising you are regulated. If they are not regulated, it’s the Wild West. Get your stuff audited by independent people, the equivalent of getting a second opinion. I was brought up in a generation of footballers where everything was done for you. Every bill. Wherever I was, the club did everything for me. I think that’s wrong.
“It makes you too vulnerable. It’s good for players to have their own responsibilities because one day the club will not be there. You will finish your career and you will still be a young man and when you finish who’s going to pay your stuff then? You are going to have to learn to survive. You are going to have live in the real world.
“Wherever you go, you get over-charged. Wherever you went, you got ripped off. People think: “It doesn’t matter, he’s got so much of it, he won’t even notice.” People think you’re a walking cashpoint for them. I felt guilty saying “no” when people rang up for help so I never said “no”. They don’t ring me now. You don’t hear from them. There was someone I helped get on their feet, he was living with me and then he ripped me off. We were best friends.
