Footballers Who Love To Gamble

Football and gambling have a long, complicated relationship.

A simple hobby of so many in the UK has caused the players they are betting on so much trouble, as you’ll see in our list of five footballers who love to gamble (for better or worse).

Matthew Etherington

Back around the turn of the century, there were few homegrown prospects as heralded as Matthew Etherington. The Peterborough star signed on with Spurs at 18, but had difficulty breaking into the first team. Eventually he was sold to West Ham, where his career saw a much-needed re-awakening. While there, his financial situation also needed a lifeline.

As a Hammer, the winger racked up around £800,000 in gambling debt along with death threats from his creditors. West Ham reportedly lent Etherington £300,000 to help him square up, but his addiction eventually caused him to spend rehabilitation time at Tony Adams’ Sporting Chance Clinic. Etherington estimates that he lost over £1.5 million on poker and racing during his gambling run, sometimes betting up to £20,000 over the course of a single bus ride to an away match.

Andros Townsend

Idle hands (or feet in this case) can lead to big trouble with footballers that have too much money and not enough to do in their downtime. In Andros Townsend’s case, that idleness cost him his spot on England’s U21 European Championship team in 2013 as well as £18,000 in fines.

Looking to pass the time in a hotel room, Townsend says he saw a mobile ad promoting live gambling on UK football matches (incredibly popular with footy fans everywhere in Britain). Not thinking much of it, the then-Spurs winger placed a few small wagers from a phone app on matches he was already watching. Unknowingly, Townsend broke several FA rules prohibiting players from betting on competitions they’ve competed in that season, which ultimately cost him four months of his career due to suspension.

John Hartson

Celtic legend John Hartson was beloved for his everyman-type status while at the club. Unfortunately, the everyman is not immune to the perils of reckless gambling, especially when it’s something they’ve grown up with. As part of Luton Town’s training academy, Hartson recalls stealing a bank card from the family whose house he was staying at and withdrawing £50 to gamble with at age 16.

Years later, the amount he was gambling escalated to £5,000 on a single horse race or cricket match, and his losses to an estimated £400,000. His addiction was compounded with a cancer diagnosis (now thankfully eradicated from him body) further perpetuating his habit. Hartson claims to have taken his very last bet ever in 2012 and now religiously attends Gambler’s Anonymous meetings twice a week.

Paul Merson

Before he became the sunny pundit and speaker he is today, Paul Merson had a dark battle with gambling issues during his time as a player and later as a manager. In the middle of the 1994/95 season, the FA arranged for Merson to be admitted to a rehab program for three months to combat his addictions to gambling, alcohol, and cocaine.

Upon his return to playing, Merson became a fan favourite at Arsenal and then Middlesbrough, and even earned an England spot at the 1998 World Cup. But he wasn’t completely free from his struggles, which would revisit him in 2004 when he was player-manager at Walsall, eventually sending him back to rehab. All in all, Merson estimates he has lost over £7 million gambling and once seriously considered breaking his own fingers to prevent himself from calling his bookie.

Neymar

One of the biggest stars in football today loves a good gamble, and makes no attempt to hide his hobby. Neymar joined PokerStars’ SportsStars team in 2015 and has since been seeing playing at a number of high profile tournaments, including in the €25k high roller event at the Barcelona stop of the European Poker Tour season 12.

Shortly after he and Brazil were eliminated from the Copa America Centenario in 2016, Neymar caught a flight to Vegas where he looked to return to his usual winning ways. Not only did he enter a two-table satellite tournament at the Rio, he won it, earning himself a $10,00 spot at the illustrious World Series of Poker that summer. Unfortunately for poker fans, Neymar wasn’t able to enter and take a shot at the tournament’s $8 million grand prize due to footballing conflicts.