Messi, Ronaldo and More: The High-Stakes World of Footballer Insurance

Uzone.id – Being a professional football player is a dream come true for many, offering the potential for immense wealth and fame. Unfortunately, the glamorous world of sports can be marred by unexpected setbacks. A single serious injury can abruptly halt a promising career, leaving athletes facing financial uncertainty and a disrupted future.

Reflecting on several extraordinary talents who were forced to retire early, such as Just Fontaine, the top scorer in the 1958 World Cup and third place in the Ballon d’Or in the same year, more and more football players are ensuring their body parts and treating them like investment instruments.

They also have to consider the modern world of sports in which the number of games per year played by footballers is rather high, and thus the chances of an accident occurring in those parts of the body are also rising.

The growth of finances, because of the popularity rise is also a reason and that is also supported by the medical facilities that are now much improved for football.

What is sports insurance?

Sports insurance is an individual insurance product that targets those who participate in sports or other related individuals so that they may exercise measures to minimize the risks that are likely to occur while exercising. This insurance can be offered for many kinds of sports ranging from the casual to the professional.

But why must sports, whether amateur or professional, be insured? Of course, everyone is aware that in sports, the possibility of getting injured or an accident is always impending in the process of the game not to mention the various contact sports.

This means that it is possible to get insurance coverage for sports activities in circumstances where the client is likely to be involved in an accident for which the costs of treatment rehabilitation or compensation may be very expensive.

Measures that have to be factored out in the formulation of a sports insurance policy include the type of sport that will be taken under insurance, the risk emanating from the sport, and the rate of premium that will be charged.

Depending on the requirements and demand of the policy owner, there could be other related covers that could be included in sports insurance policies these include the life and disability policies.

These reasons have ultimately made it commonplace for footballers to insure their body parts today. So who are the football players with the largest body insurance value?

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is reportedly the player with the largest insurance value for body parts. The captain of the Argentinian football team is said to have insured his legs for up to USD 789 million.

Yahoo News citing local Spanish media reports, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner pays a jumbo premium of around USD 720.000 per year.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Next, there is Cristiano Ronaldo who reportedly insured his lower body parts, including his legs, because he is often targeted by opposing teams in violations. 

As reported by ESPN, in his move from Manchester United, Real Madrid insured Ronaldo’s lower limbs for USD 153 million.

Manuel Neuer

Apart from feet, there are also football players who insure their hands. This is of course common for football players who play as goalkeepers.

German national team captain Manuel Neuer is reported to have taken precautionary measures by insuring his hands for USD 4.3 million after the Panzer Team won the 2014 World Cup.

David Beckham

The most iconic footballer in the world, David Beckham, is reported to The Times UK had taken out the largest personal insurance policy in sports history at that time. The insurance deal during his career at Real Madrid reportedly reached 100 million pounds sterling.

As the sport develops, the number of matches footballers play each year increases rapidly. More games result in energy drain, physical exhaustion, and rampant injuries. 

Therefore, to maintain body fitness and avoid injury, many soccer players insure their body parts. 

Gareth Bale

Bale has been regularly injured since he first played for Real Madrid in 2013. Injuries have also caused his career to fade in recent years. 

This injury trend opened Bale’s eyes to having insurance. Reportedly, the footballer from Wales has purchased insurance worth 100 million Euros. He paid the premium to insure his legs.

Neymar

This footballer who plays for the Paris Saint Germain club is very prone to injury. As a result, Neymar could experience an unfortunate fate that would require him to retire from the gridiron world. To minimize losses from routine injuries, Neymar has long insured both his legs for USD 11 million.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney, also known as Wazza, is a former footballer from Liverpool who is now a football coach. Wazza experienced an acute injury in the period 2004 to 2006, then he decided to choose both legs as insured body parts. Wazza football player’s leg insurance is worth USD 300.000.

Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas is a person goalkeeper also known by his nickname ‘San Iker’ or ‘Saint Iker’. Casillas spent the majority of his career playing for Real Madrid and with his ability to save the ball from scoring, he became one of the best in the world. 

It’s no surprise that he chose his hands to be the insured body parts. Footballer Casillas’ insurance for his hand is worth 8.4 million euros.