Ex-Premier League star Jermaine Pennant has narrated how he went from a a multi-million footballer to a bankrupt star, struggling to make ends meet.
Jermaine Pennant narrated how he lost his career earnings of more than £10million — and got in such a mess he even forgot he owned a house.
The ex-Liverpool winger and former Premier League star is known to be a fan of luxurious living and have splashed out money on a fleet of supercars, homes, five-star holidays abroad and once paid a £25,000 bar bill on a lads’ break in Las Vegas.
After his luxurious and exravagant spending Jermaine Pennant later conceded he was “financially illiterate,” who ended up blowing a fortune on bad investments decisions.
Jermaine Pennant reportedly went on to lose three houses and was later declared bankrupt after amassing a fortune in football but blew it away in reckless living.
He said: “In all honesty, I could have been a billionaire and still f***ed it up.”
Pennant said he has made so many mistakes and did not know how to deal with things and never thought of the consequences of his actions.
Contrary to the negative opinions about him being a bad boy, Pennant said he was just an insecure kid who did not know what he was doing.
In 2022, Jermaine Pennant was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and PTSD. The problem has been linked to childhood trauma.
When he joined Real Zaragoza from Liverpool, he reportedly forgot he owned a house in Cheshire due to the impact of the mental disorder.
The Cheshire home was later occupied by drug gangs after the former Liverpool forward left it empty, forgot about it and purchased a six-bedroom home in Hale for £1.2million on the advice of a fixer.
Jermaine Pennant, who is now a football pundit, said “I bought houses but never spoke to an estate agent and had mortgages that I did not know about.”
He added he took bad advice from bad people and just lived day to day, causing himself more problems than necessary.
“There was a fixer who arranged things for me — but now I realise he swindled me out of money”, he noted.
Apart from the Hale six-bedroom blunder, Jermaine Pennant added he led an extravagant, and reckless lifestyle that contributed to his downfall.
“I would also go out and spend money on tables at nightclubs and not worry about it”, he said.
“We did two trips to Las Vegas; and on the first one I picked up a bar bill of $30,000 (£25,000) for my mates — I did not even know what was being ordered.”
Pennant reportedly invested in horses and properties and lost all the money, amounting to £10million – an amount he “dreads” to think of.
Jermaine Pennant met his nemesis after years of financial misjudgments and mistakes, with the tipping point coming when he was hit with a bill for more than £1million in 2018.
Jermaine Pennant was declared bankrupt in 2021 with debts amounting to £1million.
Speaking on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018, Jermaine Pennant said the bankruptcy did not happen overnight but from years of bad decisions and ignoring things.
“But that is the thing that led to the bankruptcy more than anything else”, he added. “I had no idea what I was earning and what was coming out of my account
“Because of my ADHD, I would just ignore things and bury my head in the sand, even forgetting I owned a house.”
Reacting to his current situation, the ex-footballer said, “It is not an ideal situation being made bankrupt — but it means I can rebuild my life and make a fresh start.”
He said he regretted his past behaviour and urged young players not to make the same mistakes he made, but to take sound advice and avoid the pitfalls of fame
Pennant, who has a 12-year-old son with an estranged lover and was married to model Alice Goodwin from 2014 to 2020, once owned cars including a Ferrari F430, an Aston Martin DB9, a Lamborghini, a Porsche GTS and several Range Rovers.
He enjoyed luxury holidays at destinations including the Maldives, Bahamas, Seychelles and Dubai.
The Nottingham-born ace’s career took off when Arsenal signed him from Notts County when he was 15.
He scored a hat-trick on his full Premier League debut for the Gunners aged 20 — but he later admitted he had hungover after going out the night before the match as he did not expect to be picked.
But despite a promising start, he was shipped out on loan to various clubs before joining Birmingham City in 2005.
