A FIFA football agent has claimed an average player plying his trade in the South African Premiership can afford to buy a high-density house which costs US$35 000 in Zimbabwe, every year for the duration of his contract.
Football players are under the spotlight again with the debate having been sparked by the challenges facing former Orlando Pirates forward, Tendai Ndoro.
Ghanaian journalist, Nuhu Adams, sparked social media debate on Monday when he claimed Ndoro was kicked out of his house in Kyalami, Johannesburg, by his estranged wife.
“Ex-Zimbabwean international Tendai Ndoro loses cars, kicked out of Kyalami Estate home in Johannesburg by his South African wife, following a break-up,’’ Adams tweeted.
“The biggest mistake Ndoro made was not registering the house and cars in his name, but did so in the name of his ex-wife.’’
There is concern that local players want a luxurious life in South Africa, including falling into the trap of living in properties where they are supposed to pay a fortune, in mortgage, every month.
And, once their careers are over, and the players are unable to pay the bond, the banks repossess the houses.
The cars, too, usually go the same way.
“What I can say from my long experience dealing with foreign clubs, and negotiating the player contracts, is that any player who is in South African PSL, can afford to buy a house in Zimbabwe every year,’’ an agent, who chose not to be named, claimed.
“Entry point salary is R14 000, on top a player gets between R250 000 to R300 000.
“In your first year, your salary can start at R35 000 to R40 000, but this is for you to prove how good you are.
“And you have to factor that this excludes winning bonuses.”
An upmarket seven-bedroom house in Kyalami Estate ranges from R5 million to R5.5 million.
It attracts a monthly instalment of between R40 000 to R45 000.
The players further go on to purchase a number of luxurious cars, from brands such as BMW or Mercedes Benz.
One can fork out between R12 000 to R15 000 per month to service a vehicle loan for five to six years.
“The lifestyle of some of these players cost a lot of money. It is interesting to note some from players based in South Africa have done well for themselves and bought a few houses in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“I believe it is not about how much someone is earning but it is about what they are doing with their money.
“It is about you as an individual, and what you want.”
Another player agent said many local players tend to forget even those people, including managers, who helped them get into the fast lane of South African football.
“South Africa credit life has affected these players for some years now and one eventually returns home empty-handed,’’ he said.
“Once a player gets a contract in South Africa, he thinks he has arrived, and he quickly dumps the people who helped him to secure the contract, in the first place.
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“A player’s playing career is not guaranteed a span of 20 years in most cases. But they enter into these bond contracts, when they can afford to buy houses back home, on a cash basis.
“A number of players, whom we cannot name, have lost out and failed to recover.’’
An investment analyst, Simon Gatsi, said the players must seek professional advice, and avoid feeding off the South African credit economy.
“The players must invest in brick and mortar, real estate, buy shares, start income-generating projects during their heydays.
“They should invest in the financial instruments, equities and money market and so forth, but we see these players purchasing a lot of cars on credit,” he said.
Ndoro is now being helped by his relative, Simba Ndoro, the owner of Division One side, Simba Bhora.
He believes the former Warriors striker first needs to be helped before they can consider giving him a chance to play for them.
