Sad, sad, sad.
Burnley assistant manager and former Wales captain Craig Bellamy has said he is bankrupt.
Bellamy's cumulative transfer fees amounted to £45m during a playing career which saw spells at clubs including Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham.
But the 43-year-old said his financial situation was due to failed investments made on his behalf.
"Everything I have had has been taken from me," Bellamy told the Daily Mail.
"If you get the wrong people advising you it all haemorrhages, it all dwindles.
"It has got to the point where bankruptcy is a relief. It means I can just live again.
"I know some people will probably think I have squandered all my money on drinking or gambling or drugs. I haven't.
"I can go quiet where you won't hear from me but I won't be down the pub. I have never touched drugs since I was a young kid. I don't gamble - I have never gambled.
"It doesn't make any sense to me. But I have gambled on people unfortunately."
Bellamy began his career at Norwich, ended it at home-town club Cardiff and scored 19 goals in 78 appearances for Wales.
After retiring as a player in 2014 he moved into coaching two years later under Neil Warnock at Cardiff, before joining Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht in June 2019, first as under-21s manager, then assistant manager.
Bellamy, who said in 2020 he had been diagnosed with depression, wanted his experience to serve as a warning to younger players.
"Check everything, make sure the people advising you are regulated," Bellamy added.
"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."
Burnley assistant manager and former Wales captain Craig Bellamy has said he is bankrupt.
Bellamy's cumulative transfer fees amounted to £45m during a playing career which saw spells at clubs including Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham.
But the 43-year-old said his financial situation was due to failed investments made on his behalf.
"Everything I have had has been taken from me," Bellamy told the Daily Mail.
"If you get the wrong people advising you it all haemorrhages, it all dwindles.
"It has got to the point where bankruptcy is a relief. It means I can just live again.
"I know some people will probably think I have squandered all my money on drinking or gambling or drugs. I haven't.
"I can go quiet where you won't hear from me but I won't be down the pub. I have never touched drugs since I was a young kid. I don't gamble - I have never gambled.
"It doesn't make any sense to me. But I have gambled on people unfortunately."
Bellamy began his career at Norwich, ended it at home-town club Cardiff and scored 19 goals in 78 appearances for Wales.
After retiring as a player in 2014 he moved into coaching two years later under Neil Warnock at Cardiff, before joining Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht in June 2019, first as under-21s manager, then assistant manager.
Bellamy, who said in 2020 he had been diagnosed with depression, wanted his experience to serve as a warning to younger players.
"Check everything, make sure the people advising you are regulated," Bellamy added.
"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."
