Achieving success right after football is an onerous challenge for many footballers as they either opt for the wrong investment or fumble their cash by failing to plan their lives after football.
However, there are some who are able to identify the right investment and plan life after retirement well and therefore, end up enjoying huge success after football.
In the case of Ghana, it's rare to see ex-footballers in the high ranks in terms of business moguls in the country but the narrative seems to be changing.
Here are five Ghanaian footballers who are now successful businessmen
Samuel Osei Kuffour
Samuel Osei Kuffour is arguably the most decorated Ghanaian footballer in terms of football achievement.
He played for European giants like Bayern Munich and AS Roma winning 14 honors, which include UEFA Champions League, multiple Bundesliga titles, the intercontinental Cup, and others.
Not only was he successful in his football career, but he worked his way to become a successful businessman after his retirement in 2009.
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The former Black Stars defender's success after football is bent on the friends he chose when his paycheck was huge during his playing days.
In an interview with JoySports, Kuffour revealed that he decided to associate himself with men who are beyond his age and not his peers.
“I will advise that you take older people as your friends. I have a lot of conversations with the players who are playing now”
“I am talking for myself because I experienced it and it worked for me. You can have loads of friends when you are playing but the question is, are they putting any business proposals on the table? It can be envy and jealousy."
He recalled that his first investment in real estate was due to the advise of former Black Stars player, Tony Yeboah.
“For him to tell me to make that move shows that he didn’t care about the existing circumstance but my future.”
“He would call me and say Sam I know you played this game and made some good money and let’s purchase this property. By the time I realized I had acquired quite a number of properties.”
Ghanaian business mogul, Osei Kwame Despite cannot be left out of Kuffour's successful journey as a businessman.
“Dr. Osei Kwame Despite, CEO of the Despite Group also checked on me and asked about how well I was saving money.”
Samuel Osei Kuffour's major investment in real estate and also cars.
Asamoah Gyan
Asamoah Gyan holds the record as Ghana's all-time goal-scorer. He established his name as a prolific goal-scorer, netting 6 goals to become Africa's top scorer at the World Cup.
Not only does he know where the goal is, but he also knows where to put his money.
The former Black Stars captain owns multiple businesses in Ghana and he is a huge figure in the investment field.
Gyan has invested in about 11 different businesses, including real estate, hostel management, transportation business, production of mineral water, Event management, Rice and noodles importation, etc.
With the real estate, he owns several buildings and apartments which are rented out to individuals and companies.
Then under the events management, he owns JetLink Events & Logistics which provides all equipment and logistics needed to host a major program and also has a band called the ASA Band.
Regarding the Transportation business, the former Sunderland striker owns more than 30 buses that service the Ghanaian capital city of Accra.
Yusif Chibsah
Yusif Alhassan Chibsah is one of the popular names in Ghana Football. He played for King Faisal and Asante Kotoko before leaving the shores of Ghana in 2006.
On the National team, he played for the U-17, captained the Olympic team, and also help Ghana to qualify for their first-ever world cup in 2006. He played most of the game in the qualifying round.
After his retirement, unlike the two aforementioned former Black Stars players, he has his major investment in football. He is the owner of a player agency group called Club Consult Africa.
His consortium is the biggest in Ghana, owning some of the top talents in the Ghana Premier League. He also manages some top talents who play abroad.
He owns a Divison Two side called Koforidua Suhyen FC.
Tony Yeboah
Tony Yeboah served the Black Stars from 1985 to 1997, playing 52 games with 29 goals. He is the third all-time highest scorer for Ghana.
He was born and raised in Kumasi and thus began his football career Kotoko Babies in the 1980s.
Yeboah played for some fairly popular European clubs including, Entractch Frankfurt, Leeds United, and Hamburger SV.
He retired in 2002 after his one-year spell at Al-Ittihad in Qatar to become a full-time businessman.
Yeboah is into Hotels and nightclubs. He owns one of the popular hotels in the Ashanti Region, Yegoala Hotel, located in Kumasi. The 3-star hotel is also located in Accra, Dansoman.
He also owns nightclubs in both Accra in Kumasi called Yegoala Night Club.
Tony Yeboah owns other businesses as well which are not known in the media.
Abedi Ayew Pele
Abedi Pele is regarded as one of the greatest African Footballers of all time as he amassed significant achievements during his playing days. He won the Africa Cup of Nations, UEFA Champions League, and two French Ligue One titles.
Obviously, he had major success on the field. In the same vein, he was able to the grounds right for himself to become a successful businessman after football.
Abedi Pele rarely talks about his assets as a businessman and therefore there few of his that are in the public domain.
"I have done so many things but my character is very calm, I am always in the dark and I believe in that," he said as quoted by Pulse.gh.com in 2021.
The former Marseille man owns Izwe saving Loans, which he claimed that it is the biggest in Ghana.
"I have been in the country working very hard, I have a microfinance company which is very huge and number one in the country called Izwe Loans."
During the said interview that was conducted in 2021 with the French ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie, Abedi shared the motive for his savings and loans.
"We give loans to teachers, military, police to support them in their daily lives. They have to send their children to school and so we give them these loans to manage and buy things for their children," he stated.
The former Real Tamale United man also owns a football club in Ghana called Nania FC. The club was founded in 1998 and they currently play in the second-tier division.
Nania have two titles in their trophy cabinet, the domestic league in 2011 and the Ghana Supper Cup also in 2011.
Notable players who were produced by the club include current Black Stars captain, Andre Ayew, former Black Stars defender, Lee Addy, former Black Stars midfielder, Ahmed Apimah Barusso, former Black Stars forward, Kennedy Asamoah Boateng, and a host of others.
