Divorce for footballers and other professional sportspeople

Footballers and other elite sportspeople do a job like no other. In an industry where only a select few “make it”, childhood dreams can be fulfilled and, for some, there is a huge amount of money to be made. It’s also an incredibly uncertain career path that ends at a relatively young age, sometimes even younger as result of injury. 

Our clients benefit from the experience and expertise of our family team, who have acted for a wide range of footballers, elite sportspeople and their spouses and partners.

Issues that sportspeople face in the years of peak performance

This is often when money is at its best, meaning the big life events such as marriages and the birth of children can have a huge financial impact. 

Footballers in particular may be catapulted into a world of fame and money, which can go hand-in-hand with forming short-term relationships, as you would expect from any young adult. If a child is born and the relationship does not last, there can be major financial consequences. 

We have acted for plenty of professional sportspeople and their exes in Schedule 1 claims. This is where a parent caring for a child can apply to the court for financial provision beyond statutory child maintenance.. The claim is for the benefit of the child and can include top up maintenance for high earners, school fees orders and provision for housing and other needs like cars and furnishings, until the child is grown up. 

The availability of this provision can come as a shock to a young, unmarried player. Whoever we act for, our focus is on reaching a sensible solution, avoiding unnecessary costs and paying close attention to managing adverse publicity. 

This career-stage is also a time when elite sportspeople may be considering marriage. Prenuptial agreements are recommended for high earners and those with the opportunity to accumulate a large amount of capital in a short period. Sporting pre-nups have an added complication in that the professional’s career trajectory can be highly uncertain and dependent on factors outside their control. One option can be to undertake a planning exercise in the alternative to deal with different career scenarios. 

Sportspeople arriving in this country following a transfer deal or relocation for other reasons may have an existing prenuptial agreement formed in another country. It’s incredibly important for them to seek expert advice in England and Wales so that their wishes are carried out – so far as possible – in the event they get divorced here. This can sometimes mean entering into a post-nuptial agreement but it really does depend on the situation as the law on prenuptial agreements varies widely from country to country.

Approaching cases where a sporting professional is either in retirement or nearing the end of their career

No matter who we represent, it is important to acknowledge what a big factor retirement can be in the life of an elite sportsperson. This obviously applies to anyone going through a change in their life but there are some stand-out features where the end of an elite sporting career is involved.

Football clubs are getting a lot better at helping players adjust to life outside the sport, though there is still a lot of work to be done. The sense of a void really does resonate with many, though not all, of our clients. There’s a loss of status, the loss of a tight-knit team around you and the loss of a structured routine. Unlike the few, who have genuinely successful second careers in broadcasting or top flight coaching, there is also massive financial change to contend with. The step down in income can be brutal and the necessary adjustments to lifestyle are not always made in time.

Poor financial advice is a real concern. We see a lot of former athletes, their spouses or partners, who have been directly affected by this as well as participation in downright bad tax or investment schemes. This is changing and sportspeople are becoming savvier and better protected, but there is a definite vulnerability when you have relatively financially inexperienced individuals with a lot of assets, who can be easily swayed by advisers that don’t always have their best interests at heart.

We’ve all seen stats about high bankruptcy and divorce rates among footballers in the years immediately after retirement and that does fit with our experience in practice. 

Clubs and player-led organisations are taking more of a lead with player welfare in general but when a player leaves their club on retirement, the adjustment period can be an extremely testing time for the whole family. Many relationships do not survive it.

How do we manage to avoid adverse publicity when acting for or against someone who is a household name?

The actual details of a divorce settlement or any cases involving children are generally subject to very strict privacy and confidentiality rules, so the actual subject matter of the legal disputes we handle are very tightly controlled. Agreements reached on divorce and separation are often subject to strict confidentiality clauses, which can be really important to help build (or re-build) trust between the parties as they go their separate ways. 

There are fewer controls on the flow of more general information about a couple’s relationship ups and downs. When this translates into social media posts, it can be personally hurtful for those involved and runs the risk of attracting wider attention when the individuals are in the public eye. When issues of privacy and reputation management do arise, it is really reassuring to have access to a great media law team at JMW. They can mobilise incredibly quickly to shut down a breach of privacy and implement a general reputation management strategy.