An ex-Man United striker once gave a team of physios envelopes filled with £50 notes as thanks for helping him through his injuries, showing deep gratitude for their support
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Louis Saha sat on the Manchester United bench with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney
Ex-Man United striker Louis Saha was very generous towards Everton's medical team
(Image: John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Louis Saha generously gave an envelope stuffed with £50 notes to a physio who helped him fight his injury woes.
The French striker was a popular figure during his time at Manchester United after joining from Fulham in 2004. He won two Premier League titles, the Champions League and League Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson, scoring 42 goals in 124 games in a four-year stint.
However, he left Old Trafford to join Everton in 2008 after a series of injuries saw him drop down the pecking order. While some of Saha's fitness issues followed him to Goodison Park, he managed to net a respectable 35 goals in 115 games for the Blues between 2008-12.
He also enjoyed a positive relationship with the medical staff at Everton, according to former club physio Mick Rathbone. And the ex-Preston medic, who David Moyes once labelled the 'best signing he ever made', revealed how Saha once made a heart-warming gesture to his team after signing a new contract in 2010.
"We were excited about working with Louis despite his injury-prone reputation," Rathbone wrote in his book, The Smell of Football. "In his first season at the club, we were extremely careful with him, in terms of not pushing him too hard, and quickly gained his trust because he intimated that at all his previous clubs, he felt this had not necessarily been the case.
"By his second season we had developed a relationship that allowed us to push him harder. In those two seasons, Louis played nearly 70 games and scored more than 20 goals for Everton, despite being injured and out for six weeks when he first came to us from Manchester United."
Louis Saha looks on during the Women's group B match between Australia and Zambia during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de Nice on July 28, 2024
Former Manchester United forward Louis Saha has been praised for his kind gesture to Everton's physio team
Rathbone added: "When Louis signed his new contract in February 2010, Bill Ellaby, the player liaison officer, handed me an envelope. He explained it was a thank you from Louis. I was touched he had taken the trouble to thank me in writing. I opened the envelope thinking, 'F*** me, this is a thick letter.'
"But it wasn't a letter; it was an envelope stuffed with £50 notes. That is the type of gratitude I prefer. After all, let's face it, talk is cheap. Apparently, he rewarded every member of the medical staff in the same way. I think he respected us for the care and time we gave him. It was a magnificent gesture from a great guy."
Saha is someone who is not short of money these days and boasts a multi-billion net worth, which is more than seven times above that of ex-United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. After retiring from football in 2013 at the age of 35, the former France international ventured into the business world.
Louis Saha
Louis Saha, who left United to join Everton in 2008, is now worth a considerable amount of money
His company 'AxisStars' - is now said to be worth a jaw-dropping £4.3billion. The firm, which was co-founded by Kate Hamer, aims to build relationships between "professional athletes and entertainers, their peers and trusted partners".
The huge net worth of Saha's business is over seven times more than Ronaldo's impressive sum of £600m. Alongside Hamer, a former marketer, he also teamed up with technological executive Patrice Arnera in the development of his firm.
It's been claimed that more than 550 ex-athletes are connected with the company. Saha said that he often gets inquiries from people asking for his advice and admitted that AxisStars has surpassed his footballing achievements.
"I still get asked for advice by different people on a daily basis," he told The Guardian. "For instance, my agent called me to say he had a talented French footballer who he wants to bring to England, and asked me for advice on how to create a tailor-made training programme. I put him in touch with people I used to work with.
"This kind of player could join Axis as he can then search for a personal coach in his region. It is a hard process but it's so rewarding, because if I can help 100,000 people, it's the best thing I've ever done."
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