England football legend Jimmy Greaves, one of the nation's greatest ever goalscorers, endured severe financial hardship after retiring, resorting to selling jumpers from his one-bedroom flat to make ends meet. Greaves, who died in 2021 aged 81, was a key member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad but struggled to cope with life after football.
From World Cup Glory to Financial Ruin
Greaves began the 1966 tournament as England's first-choice striker, but a shin injury sustained in the final group game against France—requiring 14 stitches—saw him replaced by Geoff Hurst. Hurst scored the only goal in the quarter-final against Argentina and a hat-trick in the final against West Germany, vindicating manager Alf Ramsey's decision. Despite the personal disappointment, Greaves amassed 402 goals in 617 club appearances, with standout spells at Chelsea and Tottenham.
However, football salaries in Greaves' era were minuscule compared to modern standards. He told The Guardian in 2003: “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.”
Battling Alcoholism and Bankruptcy
In the latter stages of his career, Greaves also 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.”
By the end of the 1970s, Greaves was declared bankrupt and divorced from his wife, Irene. He spent five months in Warley mental home in 1977 to address his drinking. He recalled: “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.”
Media Career and Lasting Legacy
Greaves later forged a successful media career as a newspaper columnist and TV pundit, most notably on ITV's Saint & Greavsie (1985–1992). Yet he candidly admitted the financial rewards were modest: “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.”
Despite his struggles, Greaves remains an iconic figure in English football, and his 1966 teammates will be watching England's 2026 World Cup campaign in North America, hoping to match their historic achievement.
