Gambling can be a fun hobby, provided that the gambler is reasonable. This is especially true nowadays when we can gamble online whenever we want. Online casinos entice new users through bonuses like this Admiral Casino bonus, and even professional athletes love to gamble from time to time. Some have been known to gamble more than others, particularly football players. Here are the world’s most famous football players who enjoy gambling.
Wayne Rooney
This name should be familiar to all football fans, but particularly those who watch English football.
Rooney is England’s record-breaking scorer, known for his time in Manchester United, where he spent most of his career years.
He is also known to be a bit of a gambler. He has been known to lose over 500,000 pounds at some point, early into his career, mostly due to boredom and inexperience. Rooney’s last club, Derby County, had a sportsbook company as a sponsor. It all adds up, sometimes, too much to be ignored.
Michael Chopra
While Rooney’s gambling problems are rumors, Chopra’s struggles have been confirmed by the player himself. As a player, he spent time being traded between clubs, mostly playing on loan. His career highlights were made at Cardiff City. His gambling problems date back to his teenage years, when he would bet while on route to a match he would play in.
He also spent time in a clinic which aided his recovery from a compulsive gambling problem. The clinic was sponsored by Tony Adams, another legend athlete who wanted to help other athletes with gambling problems.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
Eidur Gudjohnsen is currently a coach, but was a professional footballer for Chelsea. He had a very successful career, but he also had a bit of a gambling problem. In his own words, he was known to lose around half a million dollars on games like blackjack and roulette. He would gamble when he was unable to play, mostly due to injuries. Unlike some of the other players, he solved his problem before it became unmanageable.
Joey Barton
Here is a real problematic gambler and player. He was fined and banned from playing football at one point, but only for one match. However, after multiple investigations and reports, the Football Association had found out that Joey Barton made 1260 bets during his career, at least the known ones.
He was forbidden to play football professionally for 18 months. After his ban, he turned to management, given that he was already a bit late in his career and was banned for a year and a half.
Football has many problematic athletes, and these 4 ones had gambling problems. There are more footballers with gambling problems, but these ones are the most well-known, who you have likely seen play or heard of their status during their lengthy careers.
