I'm a World Cup winning ex-Arsenal star now worth £180m thanks to kebab shops
27/02/2024 19:19
Lukas Podolski is still scoring worldies at the age of 38, but it's not like he needs to.
The former Arsenal forward is currently plying his trade back in his birth country of Poland for Gornik Zabrze, and has an impressive 20 goals in 77 games.
Off the pitch he's having just as much success, having made an estimated £180million in business.
Podolski has had an illustrious career on the pitch, winning titles in England, Germany, Turkey and Japan while also turning out for footballing giants Inter Milan.
His career highlight, though, was the 2014 World Cup win with Germany, although he might argue he has a bigger honour.
Moving to Germany from Poland as a child, he was adopted by Cologne both as a player and a person, and remains an icon on and off the pitch as one of the city's most adored sons.
Leaving for Bayern Munich in 2006, he was soon back home in 2009, and started making a footprint off the pitch.
Podolski opened a clothing store and later Ice Cream United in the city, but in 2018 he had his biggest success.
Arriving back from Japan with Vissel Kobe after his European adventure with Arsenal, Inter and Galatasaray, Podolski had a brief trip home to open his much lucrative venture, a kebab shop.
Fans queued in their hundreds to get a shot of the FC Koln icon, and his Mangal Doner x Lukas Podolski shop remains busy to this day.
Speaking at the launch, he said: "You eat doner kebabs when you’re young, when you’re still playing and when you’ve finished playing – it’s a perfect solution.
“Ideas just come — I don’t even really have a business plan right now," he added.
It's hard to believe the latter statement, with the forward opening 30 chains, while also launching a music festival, sports centre, and even his own football tournament featuring legends.
On top of that, Podolski was reportedly one of Arsenal's highest-paid players on £100,000 per-week during his three years at the Emirates Stadium.
A worldie against Piast Gliwice in the Polish league on February 10 proves Podolski is still deserving of the big bucks on the pitch, and the sky's quite clearly the limit when it comes to his business ventures post-retirement.
