Earned over 20 million in career
Ex-Arsenal professional is broke
May 1, 2026 – 3:04 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Numerous well-known players have played for Arsenal FC in its history. One of them has now admitted that he is broke – despite earning millions in salary during his career.
Open confession from a former football star: Ex-Arsenal professional Emmanuel Eboué has declared that he is broke. In the podcast “The 5th House” the former defender said: “I lost everything from my life in England. (…) I had three houses and many cars. I lost everything and money too.”
According to Dailymail, Eboué is said to have earned 20 million pounds (around 23 million euros) in his career. The majority is said to have already been spent. With the financial downfall, the now 42-year-old is also feeling bad mentally, he explained.
“I was very depressed. The press knew where I lived, so they were there every day. I had to cut up boxes and hang them in the windows so that they wouldn’t take pictures of me. It was really bad, I didn’t even eat,” said Eboué about that phase.
The great misery began towards the end of his career. The former Arsenal star has been accused of failing to pay his agent. “They wanted me to give my agent a million euros. I told them I would rather stop playing football than give them the money.”
In the end, Eboué went for it – and lost. FIFA banned him for one year in March 2016 and his current contract with Sunderland was terminated by the club. Since then, no club has signed him again. His career ended abruptly.
Eboué has now caught himself again. After divorcing his first wife, he remarried and now coaches young players in Ivory Coast and works for the Confederation of African Football (CAF). At the same time, according to the report, he hopes to one day get a job at one of his former clubs, Arsenal or Galatasaray.
