IT’S no secret Premier League players are not short of a bob or two.
If you are ever lucky enough to have a night out with the Manchester United squad the drinks should be on club legend Cristiano Ronaldo as he pulls in a tidy £480,000-a-week as the division’s top earner.
And if United’s big derby rivals are sat across from you in the bar you can expect Manchester City magician Kevin de Bruyne to be settling the tab as he is likely to have some disposable income from his £385,000-a-week pay packet.
In fact, you should be able to put your wallet away if you are ever out with a Prem star as the average weekly salary in the division last year was over £60,000.
But not all of our top-flight heroes have kicked back and relied on their football earnings in recent years.
And here we take a look at six internationally capped stars who proved their business acumen was every bit as impressive as their footballing ability.
MATHIEU FLAMINI… big in biochemicals
Arsenal’s combative midfielder Flamini, 38, went from pro footballer to environmental entrepreneur as co-founder of GF Biochemicals.
The company is estimated to be worth £21billion thanks to its ability to mass-produce levulinic acid, which is a fuel made from plant waste that can be used in the creation of plastics.
ASAMOAH GYAN… big in everything!
Better known for his stunning 51-goal haul for Ghana than his two-year spell at Sunderland, the 36-year-old is on course for a very comfortable retirement.
Gyan’s business ventures in airlines, real estate, bottled water, boxing promotion, petrol stations and rice and noodles means his net worth is about £17million.
ROBBIE FOWLER… property tycoon
Liverpool’s goalscoring legend hung up his shooting boots six years ago but had already been building a sustainable income away from football long before then.
He is involved in horse-racing and has owned a sports promotion company since the 1990s. But real estate is where Fowler, 47, shines as he reportedly owns more than 100 properties and has a net worth of more than £30m.
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THOMAS GRAVESEN… the gambler
The Danish hardman delighted Everton fans with his take-no-prisoners approach on the pitch but stopped playing at the age of 32.
He went on to amass a tidy fortune through clever investments and then boosted his pot up to £100m through poker winnings in Las Vegas. Gravesen, 46, now works back in Denmark as a TV pundit.
SUN JIHAI… tech giant entrepreneur
Sun is still fondly regarded by Manchester City fans and became a cult hero as the first player from China to appear in and score in the Premier League.
The retired defender is now worth about £20m after co-founding a sports data company called HaiQui Sports, which has over 400million users in China.
MICHAEL OWEN… horses for courses
The one-time Liverpool phenom saw his footballing career cut short in 2013 after years of battling injuries.
He has since become heavily involved in horse racing and his stable has produced winners at Ascot and the Dubai Gold Cup. Owen, 42, has earned plenty from horse sales and prize money and is believed to be worth about £36m.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
