The famous hat trick grabbing hero who lit up the Premier League wouldn't find just £4.50 for his milkman even on his eye-watering £42,000-a-week wage
14:37, 11 Dec 2024Updated 14:37, 11 Dec 2024
Fabrizio Ravanelli (c) was the Premier League's highest paid player in 1996, earning £42,000 a week at Middlesbrough
Fabrizio Ravanelli was the Premier League's highest paid player in 1996(Image: PA)
An Italian hotshot who was once the Premier League's highest paid star refused to pay a milkman £4.50.
Fabrizio Ravanelli shocked the world when he moved to Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough from the mighty Juventus for a whopping £7m in 1996. Nicknamed 'the White Feather' on account of his iconic hair, he made an instant impact, scoring a hat-trick on his league debut against Liverpool on the opening day of the season in a 3-3 draw.
Bankrolled by fiercely ambitious and extremely wealthy local businessman Steve Gibson, the club paid him a reported £42,000-a-week, making him the league's biggest earner. He also ended the season as one of the division's top scorers with 16 goals, but wasn't able to prevent Boro from being relegated, despite reaching and losing in both the FA Cup final and League Cup final.
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However, the Italian wasn't always popular - criticising everything from the training facilities, club regime and even Middlesbrough as a town - and seemingly wasn't keen on parting with his cash, especially when it was time to pay the milkman.
Craig Hignett, who was at Boro at the time, said the then-Italy international - who turns 56 today, December 11 - "just thought he shouldn't be paying for stuff like that" because of his status.
Fabrizio Ravanelli scored 17 goals in his only season at Middlesbrough but couldn't stop them being relegated
Fabrizio Ravanelli scored 16 goals in his only season at Middlesbrough but couldn't stop them being relegated(Image: Getty Images)
He told the Undr The Cosh podcast: "The milkman came to his house and went, ‘I need the milk money’. Rav’s come to the door. ‘I’ve come for the milk money. You’ve had Monday, Tuesday, nothing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - £4.50’."
"Rav went, ‘No, no, no, no no’. He (the milkman) said, ‘Is there a problem?’ He (Ravanelli) said, ‘Yes, it’s an honour I drink from your dairy’. Deadly serious. £4.50. The fella’s on 42 grand a week! But he was f***ing brilliant - absolutely brilliant. I loved him." Yet Hignett said it wasn't an isolated incident.
The former midfielder, who also played for Barnsley and Blackburn among other teams, said a similar would happen whenever Ravanelli went out to eat with his family, friends or entourage.
Fabrizio Ravanelli was a global superstar when signed by Bryan Robson
Fabrizio Ravanelli was a global superstar when signed by Bryan Robson(Image: GETTY )
He said: "The food would come and he’d eat it, and then at the end of it he’d click his fingers and get the young lad up for the bill. And he’d give him the bill, and he’d make the waiter stay there.
"He’d open this bill out and he’d look down it, and then he’d look at the waiter, and he’d look back at the bill, and he’d look at the waiter, and he’d look back at the bill, and he’d go, ‘No, no, no, no, no’.
"And he’d stand up, and he’d point to all the bits of food he hadn’t eaten. ‘Didn’t like that, don’t like that, didn’t like that. I only pay for what I eat'. And then bump, off it goes."
Ravanelli, won the Champions League with Juve in 1996, scoring five goals in the competition, before moving to Boro. He even tried to use his iconic celebration to get out of paying his £5,000 phone bill, according to Hignett.
Craig Hignett played for Boro with Ravanelli and said he "loved him"
Craig Hignett played for Boro with Ravanelli and said he "loved him"(Image: Mirrorpix)
At the time, Middlesbrough were sponsored by Cellnet who provided all the players with phones. Ravanelli apparently ran up a huge bill after a string of long distance calls to his other half back in Italy, and Charles Porter, the man tasked with handling the players' accounts, told him he had to cough up.
Describing a confrontation at the training ground about a month into the season, Hignett said: "Fabrizio turned around and he went, ‘How many goals have I scored this month?’
"Charles went, ‘Well you’ve scored five this month. You had the hat trick against Liverpool and you’ve scored two more - that’s five’. He (Ravanelli) said, ‘Yes, and what do I do when I score a goal?’ And if you remember, he lifts his shirt over his head and he runs off. He (Charles) said, ‘Well you lift your shirt up’.
Fabrizio Ravanelli's celebration at Middlesbrough has become iconic
Fabrizio Ravanelli's celebration at Middlesbrough has become iconic(Image: Ben Radford/Allsport)
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"He (Ravanelli) said, ‘Yes, and what’s on my vest?’ And he used to wear a vest with Cellnet on it. Charles said, ‘Well it’s Cellnet’. How many goals again?’ ‘Five’. ‘Right, I charge Cellnet £2,000 for advertising. You owe me £5,000’.
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"It’s the first time I’ve heard anyone go, I’m not giving you that, f*** off. You owe me money! And he was deadly serious."
Ravanelli left Boro after just one season, which ended with the club being relegated to the Championship. He returned to the Premier League four years later with Derby County, but he was unable to prevent relegation once more.
Since retiring in 2005, he's had coaching roles at Juventus and brief stints managing AC Ajaccio in France and Arsenal Kyiv in Ukraine. He's also worked as a football pundit for Sky Italia, Fox Sports and Mediaset.