A former Everton striker showed his true colours by making a kind gesture to the Toffees' medical team as a way of showing his gratitude for helping him overcome injuries
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Everton players Jack Rodwell, Johnny Heitinga, Tim Cahill and Louis Saha celebrate a goal
Louis Saha, pictured far right, has been praised for his generous gesture towards Everton's physios
(Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Louis Saha demonstrated exceptional generosity by handing an envelope stuffed with £50 notes to an Everton physio who aided his recovery from injuries. The French forward first made his name in the Premier League at Fulham, before later joining Manchester United in 2004.
He secured two Premier League titles, the Champions League and a League Cup under the guidance of the Sir Alex Ferguson, scoring 42 goals in 124 appearances over a four-year period.
However, due to recurring injuries, Saha slipped down the pecking order, leading to his departure from Old Trafford in 2008 to join Everton. Although some of his fitness issues persisted, he still managed to net an impressive 35 goals in 115 appearances for the Toffees between 2008 and 2012.
Saha shared a positive bond with the medical team at Everton, particularly with former club physio Mick Rathbone. The former Preston medic, once hailed by David Moyes as the 'best signing he ever made', shared a heart-warming anecdote about Saha's gesture after signing a new contract at Goodison Park 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."
Everton's Louis Saha celebrates with Seamus Coleman after scoring against Blackpool in 2011
Louis Saha rewarded Everton's medical team to show his gratitude for how they helped him
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 isn't exactly strapped for cash nowadays, boasting a net worth vastly exceeding that of even Cristiano Ronaldo, his former colleague at United. Since hanging up his boots in 2013 at the age of 35, the ex-France forward has made serious waves in the business world.
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 Everton forward Louis Saha is now worth a considerable amount of money
His venture 'AxisStars', which he created with Kate Hamer, now reportedly stands at a staggering valuation of £4.3billion. The company aims to create connections between ‘professional athletes and entertainers, their peers and trusted partners’.
The massive net worth of Saha's business is over seven times greater than Ronaldo's impressive total of £600m. Alongside Hamer, a former marketer, he also collaborated with tech executive Patrice Arnera in the growth of his company.
It's reported that more than 550 former athletes are associated with the firm. Saha revealed that he frequently receives requests for advice and confessed that AxisStars has outshone his footballing accomplishments.
"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."