Former Nigerian international, Brown Ideye, has issued a stern advisory to professional footballers regarding the importance of prudent financial management, asserting that players who squander their earnings and subsequently face destitution upon retirement ought to be subject to punitive consequences, including incarceration.
According to PUNCH Sports Extra, the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations champion—who recently declared his retirement from international duty—took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account to counsel active players to regard their remunerations as a finite lifetime’s earnings, concentrated within a relatively brief playing career.
In his statement, Ideye emphasized: “Footballers, start saving for your future from day one. No matter how small your salary is, put something aside for your retirement.”
He further admonished players to seek divine guidance in cultivating an appropriate support system, underscoring the necessity of surrounding oneself with trustworthy individuals and a dependable partner to ensure stability following the conclusion of their professional careers.
The 35-year-old Ideye made the remarks in the context of an ongoing online discourse concerning professional footballers who fail to exercise due diligence in their financial affairs. Responding to a commentator who had asserted that players—particularly those with extended careers in Europe—possess little justification for not establishing lasting financial stability, Ideye retorted: “They should be jailed for life if, after they retired from playing, they can’t feed themselves.”
The debate was reignited following the emotional intervention of former Nigerian international Taribo West at the funeral rites of the late goalkeeper Peter Rufai on Friday. In a video circulated by News Central, the ex-Inter Milan defender criticized both the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Government for their alleged abdication of responsibility toward former national team players.
West decried the absence of financial assistance to Rufai’s family, recalling analogous instances of hardship endured by the families of deceased football legends Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha. He stated: “Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit within our groups to ask for money? That is madness.”
His impassioned testimony provoked widespread debate across social media platforms, with commentators scrutinizing the financial mismanagement attributed to some ex-internationals and raising questions as to why players—especially those with significant earnings in Europe—failed to insulate themselves from penury after their professional careers ended.#newsafro_
