• Former Manchester United and Everton striker Louis Saha announced his retirement from professional footballer in 2013

  • The Frenchman went on to find a platform called AxisStars

  • Read below for more on the ex-Newcastle man from Louis Saha net worth to his career stats


It’s nearing a decade since Louis Saha featured in 7. The Frenchman provided joy to many Premier League fan bases, though, and has a place in the history of several of England’s most well-supported clubs.

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Capped by France on 20 occasions, Saha’s talent was overshadowed by some superstar teammates on the international stage.

At club level, however, he was capable of brilliant moments, as you might expect for someone who scored just shy of 160 goals across a career that spanned three decades.

Since hanging up his boots, Saha has turned his mind to the world of business. He founded AxisStars, a social network for professional athletes, in 2014, just months after his final appearance in football live betting.

Net Worth

Estimations of Louis Saha net worth vary from a few million to Mathieu Flamini levels of wealth.

Of course, Saha’s riches in the coming years will depend heavily on how AxisStars pans out longer term, but signs are generally positive.

Some websites already include Saha among the small group of footballers who have got richer after retirement.

Of course, Saha earned plenty during his playing days. He wasn’t necessarily in the hundreds of thousands per week like the stars of the 2020s but spending several seasons with Manchester United will have given a handy boost to his net worth.

There were endorsement deals along the way. Saha was playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world and had become a recognisable name with 20 international caps.

Figures of his earnings at Manchester United were not made public, and while wages around that time were considerably lower than they are currently, he would have been in the tens of thousands per week.

AxisStars

Louis Saha founded AxisStars in 2014. It is a platform for athletes both during and after their playing days to network and set themselves up for the future.

The company’s website describes itself as follows: “AxisStars is a Safe Environment, specifically for Pro-Athletes & Entertainers, combining trusted resources in one simple app to facilitate control & confidence for a better future.”

The aim for AxisStars is to help athletes better manage their careers, and hope to tackle the alarmingly high percentage of sports stars who go bankrupt after retirement.

It didn’t take long for Saha to get other big names on board, including Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Nicolas Batum. The former Fulham striker explained his motivation when the project was just getting underway in 2014.

“I would have loved to be able to master my job better when I was playing but now I’ve retired, I still have a huge role to play sharing my experience with young players.

"I wish I had a platform like this as a player; it would have helped me manage my career and plan for the future a lot better.

“This is why Axis Stars is designed to not only help active professional players and athletes but also those in their post-career.

"The aim is to help drastically reduce the terrifying statistics which show that around 50 per cent of sports professionals go bankrupt after retirement. I am more proud of this incredible project than all of my achievements on the pitch.”

Saha was driven by ‘keeping sharks at bay’, a reference to how difficult it can be to trust people in sport, particularly when so much money is involved.

Speaking to City A.M., Saha said, “I found out really early that it was very complicated to trust people. There was no answer from the organisations that should be there for you. Clubs, unions and federations have their own agenda.”

AxisStars has faced some challenges like any business, but the company has gone from strength to strength under Saha’s driven leadership.

Family

Louis Saha had three children (Stanley, Enzo and Lou) with his former partner. They split after Saha’s retirement. In 2020, the Frenchman spoke about going through divorce and how it can impact former athletes.

"From what I’ve observed, many women disappear as soon as their husbands’ careers end… And I count myself amongst those.

"Life is not the same for these wives, who, all of a sudden, find themselves at home with their husbands, who are pretty much depressed.

"Even after spending 10 or 15 years supporting their husbands, they sometimes lack recognition towards them and tell themselves, 'I’m 40 years old, but now I want to live my life… So long!’ Except that a divorce can cost a player half of his earnings."

Career Statistics

A talented teenager at Metz, Louis Saha made his first English football prediction appearance at Newcastle. It was an unsuccessful spell in the northeast, but Saha returned to the UK with Fulham in the second tier.

This is where Louis Saha stats lived up to his obvious ability. Saha played a pivotal role in Fulham earning promotion, landing a spot in the 2000-01 First Division Team of the Year.

He scored just nine goals in his first season in Premier League predictions, and was limited to only 28 appearances in the following campaign, but he broke out in 2003-04, earning a move to Manchester United.

Never much more than a squad player with the Red Devils, Saha still scored 42 goals in 124 appearances.

He left for Everton in 2008. Hitting the back of the net on 35 occasions in 115 outings for the Toffees, Saha finished his career off with short spells at Tottenham, Sunderland and Lazio.

  • Metz 1997-2000 – 67 appearances, 13 goals

  • Newcastle (loan) 1999 – 12 appearances, two goals

  • Fulham 2000-04 – 142 appearances, 63 goals

  • Manchester United 2004-08 – 124 appearances, 42 goals

  • Everton 2008-12 – 115 appearances, 35 goals

  • Tottenham 2012 – 12 appearances, four goals

  • Sunderland 2012-13 – 14 appearances, zero goals

  • Lazio 2013 – Six appearances, zero goals


*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 30th March 2022

Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.