Creditors are chasing former Chelsea and Nigeria international star, Celestine Babayaro, after he was declared bankrupt in London. According to The Evening Chronicle, Babayaro, who won Olympic gold in 1996, has been listed in the London Gazette as bankrupt.
The bankruptcy order was first entered at a court in Croydon, London, last year, before being confirmed last month. The leftback, who at a time was reported to be earning 25,000 pounds a week, has been living in Abuja for the past three years now.
At the peak of his career, he bought a house and moved his mother and siblings to England. He also owned a chaffeur-driven Hummer Jeep, ran a music record label and was working on a foundation. His neighbours in England said his 475,000 pounds property is suffering from serious neglect probably as a result of the hard times he now faces.
A recent testimonial for him to be sponsored by Imo State government was called off at the last minute after what an official described as “inflated” the budget for the ceremonial match that would have officially marked his retirement for football. Besides Chelsea, Babayaro also featured for Newcastle United and Anderlect in Belgium
FORMER Toon player, Celestine Babayaro is being chased by creditors after being declared bankrupt. The ex-Nigerian international, who was reported to earn £25,000-a-week at one stage, has been listed alongside a dinner lady and glass cutter in an announcement printed in the London Gazette.
The player, who won the gold with Nigeria at Atlanta '96 Olympic, has been living at an address on Laleham Road, in Shepperton, Middlesex, according to the order. Neighbours said they feared the former full-back, now 32, had fallen on hard times because the upkeep of his £475,000 property had slipped.
It is understood the player who started 66 times for the Magpies, had bought the house for family members to be near him when he signed for Chelsea, in 1997. The house is also next door to the home where his younger brother, Kennedy was understood to have lived until he died of tuberculosis in 2007.
A neighbour, who lives on the same street as Babayaro said: “You can tell money’s difficult because the home used to be maintained really nicely, but now it’s a bit of a mess. “You can see where the conservatory is starting to fall down and the garden is completely overgrown. They came and asked to borrow my lawnmower but I had to say no because the grass was too long and would have broken it.”
The bankruptcy order was first entered at a court in Croydon, London, last year, before being confirmed last month. It is understood Babayaro has recently been living abroad. The financial meltdown is the latest in a string of disappoint-ments for the U-17 World Cup winner in 1993.
After an injury-plagued spell at St James’s Park, Babayaro’s career stalled when he moved to the US in the hope of starring alongside David Beckham at LA Galaxy. But he was released by the club, and his hopes of a comeback with Portsmouth were dogged by a bout of malaria. Babayaro is understood to have racked up debt despite having the rest of his contract paid by Newcastle he was released in 2007.
He was signed for United for £1m by Graeme Souness, in 2005, and famously chose to play for the team just hours after his brother’s death.
Posted: at 18-02-2011 11:05 PM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
i think he lived above his income or he did not invest well.
But, the past cannot be changed, the future is still in his power. Don't let today's disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow's dreams. All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers. So learn from your mistake and correct it, Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God!
Posted: at 19-02-2011 03:22 AM (14 years ago) | Newbie
from the looks of thingz he did invest but these r hard times, real estate properties r going down n new businesses r not flourishing well either. if he had a steady income he prbly will av been alritw
Posted: at 19-02-2011 03:23 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
morrisony2k at 19-02-2011 03:34 AM (14 years ago) (m)
I BEG MAKE UNA LEAVE STORY, WE KNOW WHEN CELE START TO PLAY ABROAD, 475,000, IS NOTHING TO CELE, HE HAS ALOT OF PROPERTIES IN ABUJA, KADUNA JOS, IN IMO AND LAGOS. THEY SAID THAT KANU WAS BANKRUPT, MARTIN WAS BANKRUPT, WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM, THE GUYS ARE STILL WAXING STRONG., CELE IS WORTH 30MILLON POUNDS IN CASH, XCLUDING THE PROPERTIES HE HAS BACK HOME. HE HAS TWO HOUSES IN BELGIUM TOO. I BEG UNA MAKE UNA GO TO SNAKE ISLAND FOR LAGOS, HIS MANSION THERE WORTH 300MILLION NAIRA. THAY GUY CANNOT BE POOR IN HIS LIFE AGAIN.
Posted: at 19-02-2011 03:34 AM (14 years ago) | Upcoming
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