Eric Djemba-Djemba, Soccer Player – Job Loss
Professional soccer player Eric Djemba-Djemba made about $80,000 monthly playing for Manchester United in the early 2000s. However, like most broke athletes on this list, Djemba simply couldn’t handle the big paychecks. By 2007, after Manchester United traded him to Aston Villa due to his declining performance, the soccer player had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.
Djemba’s agent, Christopher Mongai, said that the midfielder player was in such dire straits that he began modeling on the side to get by. As difficult as it might be to believe, the former soccer star once purchased ten cars at once! “Eric is on a different planet. He simply has no notion of money. At one point, he had 30 different bank accounts. He was juggling between credits,” Mongia said.