Brown Ideye Calls for Financial Discipline Among Footballers
Former Super Eagles striker, Brown Ideye, has urged professional footballers to prioritize financial planning, warning that those who squander their earnings and end up broke after retirement should face severe consequences, reports Nigeriasoccernet.com.
The 2013 AFCON winner, who recently bowed out of international football, took to his X account to advise active players to view their salaries as a lifetime’s income earned within a short career span.
“Footballers, start saving for your future from day one. No matter how small your salary is, put something aside for your retirement,” Ideye wrote.
He also stressed the need for the right support system, including trustworthy partners and reliable advisers, to avoid post-career struggles.
His comments came in response to an online debate about ex-players’ financial difficulties. When a follower argued that footballers, especially those who played in Europe, had no excuse to retire poor, Ideye bluntly replied that such individuals “should be jailed for life.”
The discussion was triggered by former Inter Milan defender Taribo West’s emotional speech at the funeral of late goalkeeper Peter Rufai, where he criticized the neglect of Nigerian football legends by the NFF and Lagos State Government. West lamented that Rufai’s family, like those of Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, had been left to struggle without support.
“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit within our groups to ask for money? That is madness,” West said in a video shared by News Central.
The incident has reignited a debate on social media, with many Nigerians questioning why some former footballers, despite having lucrative careers abroad, struggle to secure financial stability after retirement.
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