Rooney had accumulated a debt of £700,000 ($1.3 million) by the age of 20, admitting he was sucked in by early betting successes and blamed boredom and unlimited telephone gambling for the habit. However, he has since managed to quit gambling altogether.
These comments came after the 34-year-old came under fire for wearing the number 32 shirt at Derby as part of an association with the club’s gambling sponsor.
This is clearly not the first case of a football player who developed a gambling problem. Gambling is widespread in the world of football. Huge sums of money at a young age and boredom mean footballers are vulnerable to gambling addiction. It has even been suggested that bookmakers target footballers, knowing that they’re flush with cash.
Here are a few footballers who got addicted to the habit of gambling, which cost them big time.
#1 Michael Chopra
The former Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Sunderland striker shed light on the high stakes gambling culture in top-flight football and revealed he started gambling when he first played for Newcastle.
Chopra’s problem was so acute that he would borrow money to feed his gambling addiction. The damage done to Chopra’s family has been devastating. His father had to sell their house to pay of his son’s debts.
The 35-year-old now works for Only4Stars Players & Match Agency based in Amsterdam as a sports agent and broker.
#2 Eidur Gudjohnsen
Chelsea’s Icelandic striker got into trouble due to his gambling habits. After suffering an injury that made him feel “bored” and “lonely” Eidur would find solace in the casinos, where he lost £400,000 in a five-month period.
His addiction followed him to Barcelona and continued to spiral out of control. The striker ultimately ended up owing more than £6 million to banks around Europe.
In 2009, he vowed never to gamble again after revealing his addiction. Recently, Gudjohnsen has taken to coaching after he was hired as the assistant coach for the Icelandic under-21 football team.
#3 Matthew Etherington
The former West Ham, Tottenham and Stoke winger was addicted to poker and placing bets on horse races. This led to him accumulating debts of over £1.5 million before seeking help for his addiction.
Matthew Etherington and his mother worked with the Professional Footballers’ Association to bring his gambling under control. He also spent time at at the renowned Sporting Chance clinic for his gambling addiction.
Etherington retired from playing in December 2014 due to a persistent back injury.
Now he’s hoping to forge a career in management, still regularly attends Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings in order to avoid a relapse.
#4 Paul Merson
The former Arsenal man has failed to conquer his gambling demons losing as much as £7 million due to gambling debts. He even had to give up his £300,000 home after failing to make payments on his mortgage.
Merson is now a pundit on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday recently admitted in a new ITV documentary that his his well-publicised addiction has once again relapsed.
#5 Keith Gillespie
Former Manchester United, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers winger is another who’s taken to gambling. Gillespie made millions of pounds during his playing career but ended up losing most of his estimated £7.2 million fortune. In 2010 he was declared bankrupt.
Recently, he decided to carve out a new future by becoming a football agent. In 2017, he launched the OneTwo agency alongside former Irish League player Brian Adair.
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