I played for Liverpool before launching lucrative new career in Dubai after Jurgen Klopp fallout
Today at 12:32 PM
Former Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has opened up a luxury property business in Dubai as he prepares for a lucrative life out of football.
The 34-year-old made his name as an elite-level defender with Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Crystal Palace but is now preparing for his retirement by setting up Sakho & Co in November.
The property and interior design business operates with the motto ‘Elevate Your Game’ and also deals in consulting and video production.
However, Sakho’s properties is the main strand of the business with the French defender working across Dubai, Paris, Marrakech, and Senegal.
The business has seen Sakho rub shoulders with numerous high-profile sports stars including Mike Tyson, Max Verstappen, Bacary Sagna, Florent Malouda, and ex-Liverpool teammate Christian Benteke.
Launching the business in November, Sakho took to social media and wrote: “It is finally time to share a project that unites my passion for football with my entrepreneurial spirit.
“A spirit that has been forged and enriched in recent years and to which every minute of my free time has been dedicated.
“I can’t wait to introduce you to Sakho & Co, an ecosystem that offers a complete range of interconnected services designed to support entrepreneurs, investors and individuals looking for tailor-made solutions!”
The new venture isn’t anything new to Sakho’s 1.6 million Instagram followers, who regularly see the defender talking about his business and showing prospective buyers around properties on the market.
Among those being sold by Sakho are a five-bed waterfront villa in the exclusive Dubai neighbourhood of Palm Jumeirah, complete with a private pool and ‘maid’s room’.
That property will set you back £9.6m, while he’s also been selling a two-floor Parisian penthouse based near the the Eiffel Tower, worth around £8.4m.
Sakho’s business venture is ramping up as his football career begins to peter out.
The 34-year-old spent four years with Liverpool between 2013 and 2017 and helped the club to a fourth-place finish in the Premier League, captaining the club on a number of occasions.
Following a fallout with Jurgen Klopp, the centre-back joined Crystal Palace after he was sent home from Liverpool’s pre-season tour in the United States after missing a team meeting and turning up late to a recovery session.
That move to Palace was worth £26million and the defender stayed at Selhurst Park until 2021 when he joined Montpellier on a free transfer.
His Montpellier exit came under a cloud as well, with Sakho quitting the club after another managerial bust-up with Michel Der Zakarian.
Citing ‘a lack of respect’, Sakho said he would ‘leave like a man’ and has since joined little-known Georgian club Torpedo Kutaisi in June 2024, playing for them 13 times.
