A former Liverpool player once vanished from public life before seeing his property empire go bust and selling his precious medals. The former defender is the only player to have played in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup and the top five levels of English football. Most of his success came at Liverpool, who he played for between 2003 and 2008.
The man from Limerick made over a century of appearances for the Reds and was a member of their Champions League-winning squad in 2005. He was also a regular at international level, playing 53 times for the Republic of Ireland and scoring twice. After leaving Liverpool, he had shorter spells at Espanyol and Portsmouth before hanging up his boots in 2010.
The player in question is of course Steve Finnan, who decided to keep a low profile after retiring from professional football. His absence from public life ultimately led to a manhunt with Liverpool fans launching a bizarre campaign to locate him.
Finnan could not be tracked down for a 2015 reunion of their Champions League heroes, leading to concern in some quarters. Thankfully, he was found safe and well a short time later.
The former right-back decided against going into punditry after calling time on his career, instead opting to bankroll a property empire. He ran it through two companies which he owned alongside his brother Sean, who managed the firm.
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Among their impressive portfolio was a large house near Wimbledon Common and several other properties located in south west London. However, the venture turned out to be a disaster with the two brothers eventually falling out.
Finnan launched a legal battle in 2023, alleging that he was left out of pocket to the tune of £6million. He blamed lawyers for the collapse of the business but the case was eventually thrown out by the High Court.
The judge said Finnan failed to prove that he was any worse off after seeking legal advice than he would have been otherwise.
The court heard that in 2016, Finnan emailed solicitors complaining that despite 'significant funding from the claimant by way of loans, the companies appeared to have no money'.
Finnan then instructed his lawyers to file 'unfair prejudice' petitions against Sean, who denied misconduct but admitted their relationship had broken down. He changed lawyers but the brothers ended up settling out of court.
Sean agreed to transfer his shares to Finnan and pay him £4m, but the sum was not received. In 2019, the latter claimed he only got £187,570 from the sale of the company and £89,345 from the sale of another property.
During the ordeal, Finnan auctioned off his Champions League medal as well as other prized possessions. He also sold two signed shirts from the 2005 final plus a replica Champions League trophy and a luxury watch that was presented to him after the match.
Finnan also decided to auction the runner-up medal he received when Liverpool were beaten by AC Milan in 2007. He continues to maintain a private life to this day, with not much known about what he is currently up to.