Nicklas Bendtner

Nicklas Bendtner may have turned up for some of the most glamorous football teams in the world, but one can’t help but feel as if he didn’t exactly fulfill his true potential. Although he had a senior career that spanned over 14 years, Bendtner would be remembered more for his off-field antics.

At the Euro in 2012, he was fined £80,000 by Europe’s football governing body after pulling off a ridiculous celebration that breached UEFA rules. The forward scored the second goal to draw his side level against Portugal, then proceeded to pull down his shorts and revealed a brief with sports betting company PaddyPower on it.

There was one time that he fought his own teammate in a game. This happened as far back as 2008 in a league cup game against Tottenham. Bendtner had actually started the match, but as Arsenal was trailing Wenger decided to bring on Adebayor. While jostling for positions before a corner kick, both players suddenly started fighting each other. Bendtner later claimed that Adebayor was one of the few people that he just couldn’t stand, even though they were teammates for years. In a game where Arsenal where already losing by 5 goals to 1, what else could have gone wrong?

In an interview with BBC in 2020, the player claimed that he was addicted to casinos. For him, gambling was something that gave him the kind of thrills he got from football matches. According to Bendtner, "At times it could seem like an addiction. The higher the stakes, the higher the adrenaline rush”.

Bendtner’s £175,000 Porshe was recently seized after the player was found guilty of seven different driving charges. In one instance, he was caught driving 157kmph on a road with a max clock speed of 110kmph. He was asked to pay £4,600 or have a 20-day jail term. This was after having his license seized too.