Off the Pitch Rich List - 10 Players Who Have Made a Fortune From Endeavours Outside of Football

Footballers' earnings have continued to increase to astronomical levels, with player contracts and ever more lucrative sponsorship deals being signed every year. TV revenue for clubs, particularly in the Premier League, continues to rise every year, coupled with fifteen out of the twenty clubs being owned by billionaires, meaning it is only likely to keep going up. 

However, despite being paid these huge sums of money throughout their careers, some footballers have managed to use their income to create even bigger fortunes through various different business ventures. Here, we run through ten footballers who you might not have known are making a huge profit from their various businesses, including income from casinos and other activity connected to the UK betting industry.

Here’s the full list of former and current players making a splash in the business world… 

Image: joshjdss, CC BY 2.0 /Wikimedia Commons

Mathieu Flamini

The former Arsenal fan favourite Mathieu Flamini has had quite an extraordinary career off the pitch co-founding GF Biochemicals with business partner Pasquale Granata back in 2008. Since then the company has grown exponentially and is now reportedly worth a staggering $28 billion, making Flamini the richest former footballer in the world. 

Image: Austin Osuide/Wikimedia Commons

Louis Saha 

Former Manchester United, Fulham and Everton hitman Louis Saha has somewhat gone under the radar with his success off the pitch. The France striker founded his company Axis Stars shortly after his retirement with the aim of providing a ‘Safe Environment, specifically for Pro-Athletes & Entertainers, combining trusted resources in one simple app’. With over 550 ex-pro athletes on the books, multiple sources report its worth to be just under $5 billion. 

Image1: Christian Bertrand/shutterstock

Image: Christian Bertrand/shutterstock

Martin Braithwaite 

Danish forward Martin Braithwaite is one of a few still playing on this list, moving to Espanyol at the start of this season after having his contract terminated by Barcelona. While his career on the pitch has been far from spectacular, earnings off the pitch are a different story altogether. Braithwaite is making big bucks in the property sector, holding a partnership stake in NYCE Companies, which has resulted in a personal fortune of over $287 million. 

Image: ph.FAB /shutterstock

Andres Iniesta  

The Spanish midfield maestro might just be the most successful footballer on this list, winning countless trophies during an amazing career. But he has shown business savvy off the pitch, taking ownership of his family's winery Bodega Iniesta which he inherited from his father. He has also invested in a company called FirstVision which aims to revolutionise sports broadcasting by introducing cameras on the players’ shirts, giving spectators a first-person point of view.  

Image: fotmob

Thomas Graverson  

Former Everton and Real Madrid midfielder Graverson is somewhat of an outlier in this list, due to the fact his reported fortune of $100 million was earned over an eight-year period playing poker in US Casinos. He also made some shrewd investments along the way in bars and restaurants and now lives a life most can only dream of on ‘Millionaire’s row’ next to Tennis legend Andre Agassi and Hollywood star Nicolas Cage. 

Best of the Rest 

Outside of the top five, Barcelona great Gerard Pique has earned plenty on the pitch, however, he is also the co-founder of Kosmos, a production company focusing on sports media specifically. 

2001 Ballon D’or winner Michael Owen has amassed a fortune of $68 million in connection to horse racing. He owns Manor House Stables - a training ground for racehorses.

His former teammate Robbie Fowler made it big in the property game, building up an impressive portfolio over the years since his retirement. Fowler was so successful in fact, he now runs seminars on investing and turning a profit when buying property. 

David Villa has been extremely busy since his retirement, joining asset management company KraneShares. They have since founded a new football team Queensboro FC in the USA which made its debut in the USL Championship this year. 

Former Chelsea and Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand completed the list, founding a fintech brokerage firm called Silicon Markets back in 2015 with some of his friends. The company is aiming to ‘revolutionize retail trading’ all while Ryan still plies his trade in the Premier League with Leicester City.