Former Celtic winger Bobby Petta, who played a key role in the club's back-to-back league titles in the early 2000s and featured in a famous 6-2 win over Rangers, has spoken about his life after football. The 51-year-old Dutchman was declared bankrupt years after retiring, forcing him to take a job as a delivery driver for DPD.
Petta, who also played for Fulham and Ipswich Town, lost a significant amount of money after putting too much trust in financial advisers. In 2023, he told Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad: 'I thought: when I'm done, I'll have a nice nest egg. Not so. I didn't consider the consequences. I assumed too much of the best in people.' He described himself as 'too gullible' and said the scheme 'sounded so convincing'.
After leaving English football in 2006, Petta played in Australia and later came out of retirement to join Scottish side Rossvale in 2016. Following his bankruptcy, he worked as a delivery driver earning around £200 per day, and has also worked as a DJ and run a pub. As of 2023, he was coaching young footballers in Hamilton, Scotland.
Petta also made a cameo appearance in the 2013 Brad Pitt film World War Z, which was partly filmed in Glasgow. Despite his financial struggles, he remains philosophical: 'I don't need to have everything to be happy. I live in a small apartment now, have hot water and electricity. That's enough for me.'
