How friends and relatives ruined my businesses - Augustine Arhinful shares sad story

Former Black Stars forward, Augustine Arhinful has refuted the notion that footballers go broke due to the extravagant lifestyles they lead during their playing careers.

Arhinful's decision to open up about his failed businesses comes after a former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko player, Agyemang Duah, received a cash donation for his battle with stroke.

Speaking on Onua FM on November 29, Arhinful blamed the relatives and friends of some of players for the challenges they face in retirement.

He shared his personal experience of having his businesses mismanaged by individuals he trusted while sending money to them for supposed investments while playing abroad.

"I will advise [the current footballers] that if you are not sure, get a fixed deposit or treasury bill or bond or property and save your money, and when you retire, you find a business to invest in. Because I have gone through it before," Arhinful said during the Onua FM interview.

Arhinful recounted that his business as a key distributor for Unilever and Nestle in Ghana collapsed due to mismanagement by those he trusted, including a lawyer who was supposed to assist.

“I used to be one of the key distributors for Ghana when it comes to Unilever and Nestle. In the whole Ghana we were just about 10 or 9 major distributors.

“If I tell you the volumes of money that went in but today the business is no more because the people that I entrusted the money to them including my lawyer who is supposed to help us, did their own personal thing to the extent that the business collapsed. A whole aluminium factory that I had with a partner collapsed," the ex-player stated.

"A lot of people in these players’ lives do not help. Some of us have gone through this phase of life. People you felt are your brothers, family members, disappoint and disappoint greatly, and sometimes you don’t want to help anybody again," Arhinful remarked, cautioning against harsh judgments on retired players facing financial difficulties.

Augustine Arhinful is well known for his football career in Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, and Turkey.

JNA/EK