What we learnt from the Bryan Habana bombshell about his father stealing his money
Bryan Habana’s (pictured) father embezzling his earnings from a Gillette campaign highlights the risks of hiring family members as agents, echoing similar financial mismanagement issues faced by Lionel Messi and his father. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP
Image: Glyn Kirk/AFP
I was left stunned when I read about how Bryan Habana’s father, Bernie, stole from the Springbok legend for eight years, and if anything, there’s a harsh lesson in there.
That, of course, is it’s not a great idea to have a family member as an agent if you’re an up-and-coming or established sports star.
This is not to lay any blame on Habana himself, as he should have been able to trust his father, but instead was betrayed.
The legendary Springboks wing began his career in 2003 as one of the most explosively fast wings the country, and the world, had ever seen.
Habana’s 2009 Gillette Campaign with Federer, Woods, and Henry: A Financial Misstep
By 2009, Habana had signed with Gillette for an advertising campaign entitled “Champions/Best a Man Can Get” alongside tennis star Roger Federer, golf superstar Tiger Woods, and French football icon Thierry Henry.
Unfortunately, Habana’s father managed to embezzle all the funds from this campaign into his own account, rather than transferring them to the rugby star’s business account.
Lionel Messi’s Father, Jorge Horacio, Faces Fund Mismanagement Allegations
It reminded me of another prominent case of fund mismanagement by a famous sports star’s father. That was Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Horacio.
Hailed as one of the true greats of football, Messi represented Argentina and Barcelona during the peak of his career, which propelled him to superstardom between 2008 and 2022.
Messi won 10 La Liga and four UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona as he made over 500 appearances for the Spanish giants.
In 2016, though, Messi was convicted of tax evasion. During the court case, Messi revealed that his father had been responsible for managing all his finances and legal affairs.
Though both were sentenced to 21-month jail sentences, they were able to avoid actual time in prison due to Spanish law allowing first-time offenders to get off with a fine for a non-violent first offence after a sentence of two years.
Both Habana and Messi’s cases show that they would have been far better off hiring a professional as soon as it was clear they were going to make it big, and it certainly would have saved heartache and lost relationships down the line.
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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