Footballers earn millions of euros doing what they already love. Still, playing the beautiful game isn’t their only way of making money. The fame that comes with being a football star attracts sponsors from all corners of the world.
Think of Neymar. In addition to his monster €26.8 million per year contract at PSG, he also makes an extra €25M from Puma. On top of that he earns money from his endorsement deals with Qatar Airways, Replay Jeans and Red Bull.
What’s more, Neymar is a good poker player who’s partnered with some of the biggest poker sites in the world. That said, the following six players are much better poker players. Here’s why.
#1: Gerald Pique
Spanish and Barcelona defender recently shocked many after agreeing to cut his salary by half to remain at Barca. That’s probably because he loves his club so much and earns a lot of money both at club level and at casinos.
In 2011, during the Barcelona edition of the European Poker Tour, the World Cup winner showed up to try his luck at the event. And guess what? He won $56000 in one round. At the end of the event, Pique had accrued $390,000 in winnings.
Like many footballers, Pique rarely talks about his poker prowess. However, he has admitted to have won in excess of $600,000 playing poker at different events. And uhm, did we mention he finished second at the 2011 poker tour?
If someone ever challenges you to bet a lot of money against Pique in a game of poker, don’t accept it unless you’re a much better opponent.
#2: Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham is a legend of the game. He’s a former striker that had an illustrious career playing for West Ham, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs and Millwall. His biggest achievement is scoring 288 goals, ranking him 11th in the list of top EPL scorers of all time.
After retiring in 2008, Sheringham, tried out several new professions. Poker was one of them. And that’s because he’s talented at it. In 2010, the former England international won $127000 and finished fifth at the Portugal edition of the English Poker Tour.
Since then, Sheringham has accrued over $300,000 by winning different poker tournaments. In his usual style, he also tried out different career options. For example, he tried management in 2015. Last year, he also appeared in an episode of the British version of The Masked Singer.
#3: Jan Vang Sorensen
Although many footballers love to play 3 card poker online, not many of them have won something as prestigious as a World Series of Poker bracelet. For the uninitiated, a bracelet is like an NBA Championship ring.
It’s the best thing you can win from a World Series of Poker (WSOP) tour besides money. Former Danish footballer Jan Sorensen has two bracelets, making him the most successful footballer turned poker player in the world.
To provide a little background, Sorensen famously played football for Odense BK in his home country. Back then, he used his father’s surname, Hansen, but later changed it to Sorensen, his mother’s paternal name. He retired at the age of 30 through a career-ending knee injury.
Next, he ventured into poker. Sorensen chose Seven-Card Stud as his favorite poker game. And this is the game he played during his debut at the 1995 WSOP Event. After much practice, the Danish professional returned to the event in 1998 and won DM125,000.
Sorensen won his first WSOP bracelet at the 2002 WSOP event in pot Limit Omaha. He also walked away with $185,000 in prize money. He won his second bracelet at the 2005 WSOP event, clinching $293,275 from the Seven-Card Stud game.
#4: Ronaldo Nazario
Before Cristiano Ronaldo shattered nearly all goal-scoring records at Real Madrid, Nazario was the club’s best player of all time. In all fairness, Brazilian Ronaldo is still one of the world’s best football players of all time.
And thanks to his illustrious career, he’s a multi-millionaire and the current owner of La Liga Club—Real Valladolid. Ronaldo, whoa Ballon d’OR winner, a World Cup, La Liga and Champions League winner, is also a great poker fanatic.
Being a rich man, Nazario takes part in high roller events. He once participated in a poker event in the Bahamas and won $42,180. He probably wouldn’t defeat Sorensen in a poker event. But considering he’s defeated champions before; we wouldn’t be surprised if he won a poker event for footballers.
#5: David Levi
Like Denmark’s Sorensen, David Levi’s football career was cut short by a knee injury. In fact, his football career was too short that most people know him for his poker skillset rather than his football background.
A former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, Levi moved to California to pursue greener pastures. There, he learned how to play poker. Today, the 58-year-old has won over $4 million, including $553,434 from WSOP events.
That said, Levi is yet to win a WSOP bracelet despite his commercially successful career. However, he’s finished at one WSOP final table event (2005). He’s also won two high-level poker championships in California, and two high-roller events at the Bellagio High Buy-in Texas Hold’em events.
#6: Tony Cascarino
Cascarino is a name that will always remain in the minds of many Irish football fans. He’s one of the best players to have played for Gillingham FC, Millwall and Club Nancy. He also played Ireland at the international level. However, the English-born footballer later revealed he was adopted and therefore never qualified to play for Ireland.
His citizenship controversy aside, Cascarino is a great poker player. He’s won over $595,000 from multiple events, including $293000 from the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour.
In Summary
Most footballers are great at one thing only: playing football. But for the professionals we’ve mentioned above, they’re so good at poker that some turned into professional gamblers post their football careers.
Amazingly, you can also become a poker professional. The Internet has all the books, YouTube tutorials and article guides you need to become a decent player.
