“I quadrupled my salary” – Frenchman on his mega Chelsea contract, and the ‘fun’ he had spending it

With footballer’s wages what they are these days, it’s rare for players to talk about their income.

If they do, they do so after they retire, much like Franck Leboeuf, who spent five years at Chelsea after being bought from Strasbourg between 1996 and 2001.

After his Stamford Bridge spell, the former centre-back went to Marseille for a couple of years, before trying more exotic locations, such as Al-Sadd SC in Qatar and Hollywood United in the United States before retiring.

Now a pundit on French television and radio, Leboeuf was interviewed by Closer Magazine, where he was asked about footballer’s wages today, which led to him talking about how his life changed when he swapped Strasbourg for Chelsea in 1996.

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He said: “I quadrupled my salary, and it was the club who paid my taxes. I was earning €130k/month. It was already shameful compared to Michel Platini, who earned a lot less. With this money, I had fun. I built a great house with an indoor swimming pool at Aix-en-Provence.

“Some say my head got big, but for me it was just investments. In France, it’s shameful to earn money. I don’t have a problem talking about money. When I went to play in Qatar, it wasn’t for the sand dunes, but to fill my bank account”.

Leboeuf enjoyed a good career at Chelsea, making 192 appearances in all competitions for the Premier League club, scoring 22 goals and assisting another one during his time at Stamford Bridge.

He has since enjoyed some acting roles in various films and television shows, including playing a doctor in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything.