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However, while the average footballers is wears fancy clothes and drives the flashiest cars, a good life after retirement is not always guaranteed.
Yes, the games pays very well, but planning and investing for the future is up to the individual players and their managers.
That is why some players retire and enjoy continue to enjoy a good life, but others cut frustrated figures after ending their careers.
READ ALSO: I nearly quit football after scoring 4 own goals in a month – John Paintsil
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Pulse Sports chronicles some celebrated African footballers who went broke after retirement:
Rashidi Yekini
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Former Nigeria international Rashidi Yekini was the poster boy for the country for almost two decades.
He was on top of his game, and his talent saw him play in five major tournament for Nigeria, scoring 37 goals.
Yekini, however, died a poor man after battling with dejection, and ill health in his final years. He died at age 48 after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression and often seen roaming the streets of Ibadan.
Emmanuel Eboue
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Former Ivory Coast international Emmanuel Eboue had everything going his way in a career that saw him play in England and Turkey.
However, a couple of bad investments and a legal tussle with his divorced wife left him in a broke state.
The ex-Arsenal defender now spends his days hiding from bailiffs, and revealed that he sometimes sleeps on the floor of a friend’s home, travels by bus and even cleans his clothes by hand because he has no washing machine.
Wilson Oruma
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Former Nigerian international, Wilson Oruma reportedly suffered from an emotional disorder after he was allegedly defrauded by a pastor and some fake oil businessmen to the tune of N1.2 billion in December 2012.
The 41 year-old Oruma played for Lens, Marseille and Lens in France as well as other European clubs.
The episode left him in a financial turmoil that his former international teams Augustine Eguavoen, Samson Siasia and Nwankwo Kanu, agreed to take part in a football game to raise funds for him.
Philemon Masinga
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This man rose to fame when he scored a goal that took South Africa the 1998 World Cup in France.
Aside being a player, he was a businessman too. But rags came knocking after he called tim on his football career.
The clear indication to that was when he moved from a mansion worth millions to a back room at his mother’s house in Soweto.
Junaid Hartley
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Hartley went broke after he used all the money he made from football to pay lawyers when he was attempting to cut ties with Orlando Pirates.
He tried to revive his career but luck wasn't his friend. Left penniless, Hartley started using drugs, making his life more miserable.
He is, however, currently coach of the under-11 team at the Education Through Soccer Academy (Etsa).
Jabu Mahlangu
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Jabu Mahlangu grew up poor but got his big break when his talent for football gave him the life he envisioned.
Mahlangu’s life of riches was short lived, though, as he used all the money on the party lifestyle. After his retirement he went broke for some time.