Footballers' business ideas that Gary Neville WOULDN'T invest in
Heskey’s doomed restaurant, Friedel’s £20,000-a-year academy and financial advisers backed by Rooney and Ferdinand… footballers’ business ideas that Gary Neville WOULDN’T invest in on Dragons’ Den
- It was announced this week that Gary Neville will be appearing on Dragons’ Den
- The former Man United and England star has developed his own business empire
- But other footballers and managers have invested poorly or seen ideas fizzle out
Gary Neville has developed somewhat of a business empire since retiring following a successful football career.
Such is the extent of his growing portfolio that he will appear alongside other like-minded businesspeople a guest on the hit BBC show Dragons’ Den.
Neville, 48, was described as an ‘ex-professional footballer turned businessman extraordinaire’ when the broadcaster announced he would be joining the panel.
While on the show, the ex-Man United star-turned pundit will be expected to give his thoughts and expertise on investment opportunities presented to them by budding young entrepreneurs.
But not all of his former colleagues have fared so well on their respective ventures, as the below list shows.
Gary Neville is to appear as a guest Dragon on the hit BBC business show Dragons’ Den
Emile Heskey
Former Liverpool and England striker Heskey funded a restaurant in Alderley Edge, Cheshire with his wife Chantelle, which became a popular haunt for footballers and celebs.
The Mail on Sunday revealed this month that the venue, called Parea, had been wound-up with debts of £163,000.
New documents lodged at Companies House show that a winding-up order was served on May 30, spelling the end for the venue, called Parea, which was opened in 2018.
It was closed earlier this year after a local catering company applied to have the company wound up over unpaid debts.
A popular bar loved by footballers and celebrities has been wound up with debts of £163,000
The establishment was funded by former Liverpool and England star Emile Heskey
Co-owner James Golden confirmed, to the Manchester Evening News, the decision as ‘the village had gone very quite’.
James said: ‘We closed the bar as our lease was up for renewal and the village had gone very quiet. We have recently launched in Liverpool and are opening in Spinningfields shortly.’
It hit the headlines in 2019 when a first anniversary party featured sushi served on a semi-naked woman lying on a table, her modesty largely preserved by some leaves and salmon nibbles.
The bar and restaurant was spread over two floors and also boasted a large outdoor terrace for visitors to enjoy.
Brad Friedel
Back in 2007, Friedel – who played for Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa among others during his playing career – set up a football academy in his native United States.
The idea was provide a ‘platform for the nurturing and promotion of local footballing talent’ at the non-profit centre in Ohio, according to reports.
Coaching and tuition was available at the Premier Soccer Academy, which cost £20,000 a year per person.
Brad Friedel’s failed soccer company was closed in 2011 with debts of nearly £5million
But it eventually accrued debts of nearly £5million, with Friedel failing to secure enough interest to keep it going.
It closed in 2011 and later that year, Friedel filed for bankruptcy owing to the debts arising from the failed academy.
A spokesman for Friedel at the time said: ‘This is a technical bankruptcy and it is not anticipated that it will be in place for long, as an application for an annulment will be submitted in the next few days.
‘Arrangements are in place to deal with the issues which gave rise to the bankruptcy.’
Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and others
The ex-Man United and England duo were among those to have invested significant funds into a company accused of £25m tax fraud five years ago.
Knightsbridge Asset Management had been described as the ‘go to’ company for multi-millionaire sportsmen and women looking to invest their cash for more than two decades.
Reports at the time claimed nearly 600 sports stars, including footballers other than Rooney and Ferdinand, were all said to have been advised by the company.
Police investigated over an alleged fraud relating to property deals that saw clients facing ‘significant losses’ but they were forced to close the probe in 2022 because of a lack of evidence.
Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand were among the victims of a company accused of tax fraud
That left Rooney and Ferdinand, who reportedly bought holiday homes in Florida, and the others out of pocket to the tune of around £25m.
Rooney also forked out about £6million after a tax avoidance scheme he invested in folded.
The former Everton player sheltered about £12.5million with Invicta 43, which bought rights to two Hollywood films.
Jesse Lingard
The former Manchester United winger launched his ‘JLingz’ clothing brand in the summer of 2018.
The launch coincided with arguably the peak of Lingard’s career, having played in six of England’s seven matches at the World Cup as the Three Lions reached the semi-finals in Russia.
Lingard held a star-studded party just days before Manchester United hosted Liverpool in the Premier League, with Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw among the attendees.
Pundits had criticised Lingard for a perceived lack of focus on his football ahead of the match.
‘I’ve got no problem with him launching a clothes range to be honest with you, but before Liverpool away, the biggest match of the season, don’t launch a clothes brand,’ Gary Neville said on Sky Sports ahead of the fixture.
‘I’m not having a go at him for his character because players should obviously have other careers, they should do other things, but I just saw that little thing this week and I thought, ‘not this week. Not this week. It’s Liverpool’.’
Jesse Lingard launched his ‘JLingz’ clothing range in 2018 but the line has been losing money
Lingard faced criticism from pundits after launching the range before a match with Liverpool
Roy Keane added: ‘If that was a good, strong dressing room that wouldn’t be tolerated. That’s why I worry about the United dressing room.
‘For a young player, still learning his trade, he could be the nicest kid in the world, I don’t know him. But you’re coming out with all that nonsense.’
Lingard actually scored at Anfield in what would prove to be Jose Mourinho’s last game in charge, as United were beaten 3-1.
The ‘JLingz’ clothing range has included trucker hats, beanie hats and socks, while Lingard also has his own scent and merchandise.
In 2019, unaudited accounts lodged with Companies House showed that from 12 months until January 31, the company made a loss of £211,688.
The business’ – of which Lingard is listed as one of three directors – latest set of accounts were listed on Companies House in October. The filing revealed the company had net liabilities of £237,299 for the financial year ending on January 31 in 2022.
The Nottingham Post revealed an independent clothing store in the city would stock both Lingard’s ‘JLingz’ and ‘Be Yourself’ brands. The announcement came after the winger joined Nottingham Forest, however, his one year spell at the club has now come to an end.
Lingard claimed in December that he felt ‘misunderstood at times’, insisting that that he ‘loves training and football’ – despite accusations that he is distracted by his off-field interests.
The comments came after he acquired an esports team, also branded ‘JLingz’.
Craig Bellamy
The former Wales international, best known for his spells at Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle was declared bankrupt earlier this year.
Bellamy’s financial ruin is the result of a series of spectacular failed investments made on his behalf in properties on the Albert Embankment in London, a building project in Cefn Coed Road in Cardiff, a wine bar and steakhouse in Penarth Marina called Pier 64 and a film partnership-tax deferral scheme that was targeted by HMRC and was responsible for plunging numerous other footballers and celebrities into financial trouble.
‘I want this to be a warning to other players,’ Bellamy told Mail Sport in April.
Craig Bellamy’s financial issues were the result of a series of spectacularly bad investments
‘Check everything, make sure the people advising you are regulated. If they are not regulated, it’s the Wild West. Get your stuff audited by independent people, the equivalent of getting a second opinion. I was brought up in a generation of footballers where everything was done for you. Every bill. Wherever I was, the club did everything for me. I think that’s wrong.
‘It makes you too vulnerable. It’s good for players to have their own responsibilities because one day the club will not be there. You will finish your career and you will still be a young man and when you finish who’s going to pay your stuff then? You are going to have to learn to survive. You are going to have live in the real world.’
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Swedish legend had attempted to launch his own clothing brand in 2016, with the then-Man United forward teaming up with Norwegian fashion giant Varner Group.
Ibrahimovic’s A-Z clothing line was inspired by his journey from ‘Amateur to Zlatan’, but the enterprise failed to get off the ground.
The clothing line was reported to have suffered losses of £18m in just two years, before the project was shelved in 2018.
‘Despite solid growth in 2017 the European sportswear effort has proved too expensive,’ a statement from the Varner Group read at the time.
‘Petter Varner and Zlatan Ibrahimovic agree to end their co-operation in A-Z.’
Higher that expected marketing costs had cited among the reasons for the heavy losses.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic launched a clothing brand in 2016 but the line was shelved after two years
Sven-Goran Eriksson
The Swedish former England manager is not guilty of investing badly in a venture or an entity – instead, he chose poorly when it comes to financial advice.
Eriksson appointed Samir Khan to handle his affairs and it proved a decision the Swede would live to regret.
Khan was hired by Eriksson in 2007 but problems quickly emerged. In total, the ex-England boss claims Kan cost him more than £10m in disastrous investments.
These included redevelopment of 92 flats in Southsea and a proposed development of two plots of land at the Royal Westmoreland Golf Club in Barbados, according to The Telegraph.
Former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson says he ‘hates’ his ex-financial advisor after a series of disastrous investments
Eriksson, who claims he lost his dream home as a result, twice tried to sue Khan but only ever received an apology after his former advisor was declared bankrupt.
The now 75-year-old is on record as saying Khan is ‘probably the only person on earth that I hate’.
‘I feel let down, angry and disappointed because I trusted this man for many, many years,’ he told The Telegraph.
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