By Mthobisi Nozulela
At the height of his career former Manchester United star Wes Brown dazzled fans around the world with his ability as a defender, and earned enormous amounts of money doing so.
In 2008, Brown provided the assist when Cristiano Ronaldo headed into the net in the Champions League final against Chelsea, which they would go on to win on penalties.
The 44-year-old Brown, who won five Premier League titles, two time FA Cups and two Champions Leagues, has opened up about how he lost his wealth.
In an interview with a British YouTuber Ben Heath, the former England international revealed how bad financial decisions during his playing career led to his financial woes.
“Well it’s long a story and I won’t go into detail, but it’s stuff that happened a long time ago with certain investments and getting into stuff that you know, as a young kid, a lot people go into and you don’t understand it, it’s what a lot of people are doing,” said Brown.
“It came to the head last year, and that’s how it went. Like I said, it happened and I’m just getting on with it. It’s one of those things that you hope people, especially this generation, don’t get involved with it.
Brown further revealed that since he came out with his story, other former footballers had reached out to him and informed him they were having similar difficulties.
“I have had a lot of players that have said, I am in the same thing obviously, I won’t say names.”
According to media reports, Brown was earning about £50,000 (about R1.1 million) per week during his time at the Red Devils. After 14 years at the club, he left to join Sunderland in 2011.
His stay at Sunderland lasted five years. He would go on to play for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, before retiring with Indian club Kerala Blasters in 2018.
IOL