The former Hibs and Newcastle United player is now playing in Northern Ireland.
A former Hibs player has revealed how he was left on benefits after a difficult time after Easter Road - having also been caught out by a Ponzi scheme.
Gael Bigirimana joined Hibs from Motherwell in January 2019 but left Easter Road with a sole appearance, going on to represent Burundi at Africa Cup of Nations. He had broke onto the scene at Coventry City before a big move to Newcastle United in 2012, where he spent four years contracted to the Toon.
No offers were forthcoming after AFCON and he signed a short-term deal with non-league side Solihull Moors for a wage, with his wife expecting their second child. A year after his Hibs arrival, Bigirimana was unattached again, and a collapsed move to Croatia was followed up by the start of the Covid pandemic.
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What happened to Gael Bigirimana after Hibs?
He has revealed to Newcastle United’s club media this week that as he sought to buy a family home, an agent pointed him in the direction of an investment scheme that his accountants backed up as legitimate. A lump sum investment would give a monthly payout, but it proved to be a Ponzi scheme, and the Bigirimana family lost their entire savings.
Now back on his feet as captain at part-time side Dungannon Swifts in Northern Ireland and having launched his own mentoring brand in Bigi Elite Coaching, the former Hibs midfielder said: “There was no continuity. After a few months there was no payment. Then it was all like, 'we're going to pay you next month, there's a misunderstanding'. All those sorts of things. Then it got to the point where the communication dried up.
"We learned from the mistake. Our faith gave us perspective. There's a scripture in the Book of Job that says, 'God gives, and God takes away.' We just knew that God would bless us again one day. It was challenging. I remember one of my close friends said to me, 'it's one thing to get to the top. It's another thing to stay at the top. But it's even another thing when you're going to the top, you've worked hard and then you fall down, down, all the way.
How Gael Bigirimana got through difficult period
"Without the truth of the word of God, I know what could have become of me and what many, many other footballers in that situation would do. It's easy to become bitter, to blame everyone and try to numb the frustration, misery and pain. You can see why people go down the route of drinking and drugs."
The midfielder had told The Chronicle earlier this month: “I was in the fire and being tested. That transfer window came and I was out of contract again. I went on trial to a mid-table team in Croatia. The trial went well, everything was agreed and I went home to tell my wife we would be moving to Croatia. I was waiting to board the plane back out there and I rang the coach to check if there was going to be someone waiting for me on the other side.
"He said: ‘Where are you?’ and I told him I was waiting to board the plane and he told me not to board the plane. That day their striker had got injured and he told me they had to wait to see if the injury was long term. If it was, the move would no longer be on. He said he would get back to me if it was and that was how that ended.
"I had to get the people at the airport to get my bag out of the plane. This was at the end of January and by the end of February, Covid hit. I had no club, no income and we had to rely on benefit income. Some people might say: ‘Where was all the money you earned at Newcastle?’ But I invested money into something which turned out to be a wrong investment and turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.
“Being here at Dungannon, I want to try to help the club and the younger players in any way I can. I thank God that I am in the right place to help this club and to make history and bring success to the club that they haven’t had for so many years. We won the Irish Cup and I am surrounded by incredible team-mates and staff and the town. I am just at peace. I know I am where I am meant to be right now."
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