Jimmy Greaves, one of England's greatest strikers and a 1966 World Cup winner, experienced a difficult post-football life, including bankruptcy and divorce, as he struggled with alcoholism and financial hardship.
World Cup Heartbreak and Career Glory
Greaves started the 1966 tournament as England's main striker but suffered a shin injury requiring 14 stitches during the final group stage match against France. He was replaced by Geoff Hurst, who scored the winning goal in the quarter-final against Argentina and a hat-trick in the final against West Germany. Manager Alf Ramsey stuck with Hurst despite Greaves' recovery, a decision that proved justified.
Despite this disappointment, Greaves had a stunning career, scoring 402 goals in 617 matches, with his best spells at Chelsea and Tottenham. He made 57 appearances for England.
Financial Struggles and Alcoholism
Football wages in Greaves' era were modest compared to modern standards. He fell on hard times and sold clothes from his one-bedroom flat to make ends meet. Speaking to The Guardian in 2003, Greaves said: "Let's make no bones about it, I wish I was playing today. Some of the players get half a dozen goals a year and earn a fortune. I look back at my Chelsea days when you had to fight to get £8 a week in the winter and £7 a week in the summer, and now there are players who haven't even played in the first team on 40 grand a week."
In his later career, Greaves battled alcoholism, which affected his time at West Ham, Brentwood, and Chelmsford City. He admitted: "I lost the 70s completely, they passed me by. I was drunk from 1972 to 1977. I woke up one morning and realised that it was a different world. I'd been living in it, but I hadn't been aware of it."
Bankruptcy and Divorce
As the 1970s ended, Greaves was declared bankrupt and divorced from his wife Irene. He spent five months in Warley mental home in 1977 during his last year of drinking. He said: "I realised that I had to stop drinking long before I stopped. It wasn't an overnight thing. A mile up the road from here is Warley mental home, where I spent five months of my last year of drinking in 1977. I spent more time in there than I spent anywhere else. It wasn't easy. One day I said, 'That's it' and I just walked away from it, and fortunately, to this day, I've stayed clear of it. Are there times when I really want to have a drink? Of course there are, same as everybody else; it doesn't dehumanise you."
Post-Football Career
Greaves later became a football broadcaster, working as a columnist and television pundit, most famously on ITV's Saint & Greavsie show from 1985 to 1992. However, financial rewards remained modest. He said: "Playing football gave me a good living and television also gave me a good living, but if you say, 'Have I got any money?', the answer's no. I've just never earned enough to pack it away."
Greaves died in 2021 aged 81. He will be remembered as one of England's greatest strikers, despite the challenges he faced after his playing days.
