Ryan Babel wants to inspire fellow footballers to better manage their finances. The 34-year-old attacker of Galatasaray regularly boasts about money and his possessions in his rap lyrics and that is also an inspiration, according to him. In Babel’s life it is not only about who you are, but also about what you have. “It is a piece of financial literacy. I want to inspire my fellow footballers to better manage their finances.”
“More than seventy percent of football players are bankrupt within five years of retiring,” Babel told the newspaper on Saturday General Newspaper. The the Dutch international states that everyone thinks that football players are stupid people. “Unfortunately, many are uneducated, because we had to choose football very early and couldn’t finish our school. Moreover, we cannot develop normally in society, like most people. You earn a lot of money very quickly and you don’t know how to deal with it.”
Babel says she herself has been disciplined when it comes to money. “I have developed myself in that area over the last five or six years. I want to share that with colleagues. But when I tell them to read these three or four books to know how to protect themselves, I know no one is going to. I think making music about it is much more inspiring.” Eight songs are on the album The Autobiography – Chapter 1, which can be listened to on November 26 for the outside world.
With his lyrics Babel wants to tell the truth from his perspective and inspire others. He also creates controversy with stimulating lyrics to music, but according to the attacker it is just how you look at it. “I think it’s a shame that you can’t just be honest in football. It should always be politically correct. I have often had to find a middle ground. Sometimes I wisely kept my mouth shut, sometimes I felt called to speak out.”
“And whether my words turn out well or not, I always stand behind it. And yes, I am definitely very proud that I have been completely myself throughout my career.” Babel is also battling the image painted of him and some of the other players on the football talk shows. “The image that surrounds me is that maybe I didn’t do everything I could, I wasn’t 100 percent focused in my career. But I put a lot into it. It may not always turn out the way others wanted it to, but I did live like a pro. And I had a second childhood. I was supposedly done, but I made it all the way back. And I can go on for a few more years.”