“I can buy bread” – Former Celtic player on losing all his money in Ponzi scheme

Former Celtic winger Bobby Petta has revealed how he is only now financially getting back on his feet after losing all his money to a Ponzi scheme.

The former winger has been speaking to Algemeen Dagblad about his situation and how things took a turn for the worst financially, when he should have been comfortable after playing for clubs like Celtic.

Petta featured for various clubs in a playing career that started with Feyenoord in 1993 and ended with a spell at Adelaide Croatia in 2015.

One of the clubs in the middle of a varied career playing for sides in the Netherlands, England and Australia to name just three was Celtic.

He joined the Scottish giants in 1999 and despite suffering a number of injuries at Celtic Park he still managed to win a domestic treble in 2001 before eventually leaving in 2004 after a falling out with Martin O’Neill meant he managed just one appearance between 2002 and 2004.

The problems of his playing career were nothing compared to what’s come afterwards, though, after he was scammed by financial advisors, who lost all of the money he earned at the likes of Celtic.

“It was a lot. I thought when I’m done, I’ll have a nice piggy bank. Not so,” he said.

“I didn’t think enough about the consequences. I assumed too much of the good of people. If I knew that there was a 10% chance that a certain action would succeed, I would not think that there was a 90% chance that it would fail. Then I want to be among that 10%.

“Of course, I worked hard to get it back through the grapevine, but then you get hit again by those people. I was too gullible. But it all sounded so convincing. They tell you exactly what you want to hear.

“I don’t have to have everything to be happy. I now live in a small apartment, have hot water and electricity. That’s enough for me. And no, I can’t buy everything I want, but I can buy bread. Not everyone in the world can say that.”