SOME overseas-based Zimbabwean football players are living their best lives with Marvelous Nakamba, Tino Kadewere and Nyasha Mushekwi ranking among the biggest earners.
The sport, which many are now beginning to take seriously, has made millionaires out of players that rose from humble backgrounds in the Zimbabwe’s ghettos.
With their hefty bank balances, they can now afford to fly first class, they drive the latest range of wheels available and can afford to cool off during the off-season at the most expensive holiday destinations around the globe.
It’s a life of luxury and they can afford it, courtesy of their high-paying football careers, which should be an inspiration to many aspiring footballers out there.
On top of the pile is Hwange-born midfielder Nakamba. He had an impoverished childhood, growing up in their one-room rented home in Bulawayo. He did not go to fancy schools.
The story is not very different from some of the millionaire footballers that have risen from the dusty streets of the country and achieved their goals through hard work.
Mushekwi, Kadewere, Teenage Hadebe, Khama Billiat and Warriors captain Knowledge Musona make up the Zimbabwean football “Millionaires’ Club”.
The story of Nakamba has been told at the international stage following his move to English Premier Soccer League side Aston Villa on a Zimbabwean record transfer.
But now, he is based in Birmingham, his net worth has ballooned virtually from zero to between US$8 million and US$11 million in a space of five years.
He is usually a reserved character on and off the pitch but Nakamba has sent tongues wagging each time images of him posing with his latest ride circulate on the social media.
Last year, the Zimbabwean star trended with a Lamborghini Aventador which is reportedly worth an estimated amount of US$425 000.
He has also been spotted arriving at training sessions with top of the range vehicles that includes the Mercedes Benz CLA 250, and a Brabus 800 Widestar.
According to estimates, Nakamba is taking home a cool US$2.2 million annually, which some online agencies have translated to approximately US$7 000 a day, US$44 000 a week and US$185 000 a month.
So this means he can afford such luxuries and comforts without hustle. While he has been living his dream life, Nakamba has also been busy investing back home.
Nakamba last year opened an events management company in Bulawayo and is also the proud owner of the state-of-the-art Marvel Design and Printing, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He has also been investing in properties ever since he built a 14-roomed mansion in Bulawayo’s leafy Sunninghill suburb while he was still at Belgian side Club Brugge.
Nakamba has also touched so many lives around him through the Marvelous Nakamba Foundation.
The 28-year-old is inspired by his own upbringing which was tough.
“In football, there are no limits, there’s no limit for room for improvement, it’s about giving everything,” Nakamba told The Birmingham Mail in a previous interview.
“I was doing what I loved, playing with friends. The pitches were difficult, playing in the streets. Before it was like playing in the sand.
“To help that dream, you said, ‘OK, if we can do it here, then there are possibilities to do it on good pitches’. Everyone is looking up to me.
“Every time I go home it’s like impossible is nothing, you just need to believe. You have the three Ds: discipline, dedication and determination.
“They are the keys.”
France-based Kadewere is the second biggest earner, with an estimated net worth of US$2.6 million. The 26-year-old made the big breakthrough when he moved to French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyon in January 2020 on a new Zimbabwe record US$16.5 million transfer.
From the high-density suburb of Highfield in Harare, he is one of the biggest earners in France where he is getting US$31 000 per week.
The Warriors forward pockets a gross income of around US$98 000 a month, and US$781 000 p season. He has also been living a dream life, reflective of his bank balance.
He bought himself a luxurious US$90 000 Range Rover Lumar CLR in 2020. He was also spotted driving around in a BMW X6 that has an estimated cost of US$78 000.
Through his Kadewere Foundation, he has donated to the Highfield community and handed equipment to his former club, Harare City. Also among the millionaire Zimbabwean footballers is Mushekwi, who has defied his age and keeps scoring for fun in China where he recently claimed the second-tier Golden Boot with Greentown.
Mushekwi’s value is estimated at US$1.8 million. He has also made investments in and outside Zimbabwe and has remembered his former club CAPS United, by purchasing a luxury coach, whose estimated value stands at US$120 000.
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