Craig Bellamy's wild life — from golf club battering to bankruptcy and Burnley job

Craig Bellamy's wild life — from golf club battering to bankruptcy and Burnley job,Former Premier League star Craig Bellamy is making his return to the English top flight in the Burnley dugout as they host Manchester City in the Premier League opener

Craig Bellamy’s wild life — from golf club battering to bankruptcy and Burnley job

Craig Bellamy will be alongside Vincent Kompany as Burnley make their Premier League return tonight.

The former Wales international has become Kompany's trusted right hand man at Turf Moor, having previously worked with his former Manchester City team-mate at Belgian side Anderlecht.

It's a far cry from the winger who swung a golf club at his Liverpool colleague, or the man who split from his partner of 15-plus years due to his "unreasonable behaviour".

Not only have Burnley benefitted from his work as their assistant, but he's also benefitted from their help after he was declared bankrupt in March. We're taking a look at how the 44-year-old got to this point.

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Coming from humble beginnings, growing up with his cleaner mum and steel worker dad, Bellamy's childhood was heavily focused on making a career out of football.

He left school with no GCSEs, which is no surprise given he revealed in his 2012 autobiography, GoodFella, that he began drinking alcohol aged 12 and would regularly skip lessons for up to two weeks at a time.

Bellamy, who also admitted to acting as a lookout while his friends stole car radios to fund drug money, described himself as "a kid who knew he was going to be a footballer and thought he knew it all".

What are your thoughts on Bellamy? Let us know in the comments section.

Craig Bellamy looks on at the Celebrity Golf Club Live event at Celtic Manor Resort on May 12, 2013 — Aged 44, Bellamy finds himself bankrupt despite earning millions from football (Image: Getty Images)

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CARDIFF, WALES - MAY 22: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United is tackled by Dennis Wise and David Livermore of Millwall during the 123rd FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Millwall at The Millennium Stadium on May 22, 2004 in Cardiff, Wales.

'Dennis Wise gave us champagne before FA Cup final – then he smashed Cristiano Ronaldo'
Craig Bellamy of Cardiff City shows his frustration and throws the ball away during the npower Championship match between Cardiff City and Barnsley at Cardiff City Stadium on March 13, 2011

The Welsh winger, who picked up 78 caps, wasn't the best of team-mates (Image: Getty Images)

He continued to rub people the wrong way, though, most infamously clashing with John Arne Riise – who he hit with an eight iron in his hotel room the night before their Champions League match away at Barcelona in 2007.

Bellamy had taken issue with Riise refusing to sign an initiation song and dodging their Christmas party. He confronted him but was met with a stern response from the Norwegian defender.

So after borrowing a golf club from Steve Finnan, he headed up to Riise's room. Recalling his actions, he told Tubes: "I knocked on his door, there’s no good way of it, certainly not proud, I don’t particularly like [it], it’s not a great moment for me at all.

He celebrated with a golf swing the day after hitting John Arne Riise with an eight iron (Image: Getty Images)

"Honestly, I went in there, smacked him across the a**. I said to him don’t ever speak to me like that in front of people and he quickly apologised, which you would if someone’s at your bed with a golf club."

Bellamy then celebrated with a golf swing celebration after scoring in the Reds' memorable 2-1 victory at the Nou Camp to cap off the whole situation. Riise, of course, got the other goal.

He's also had a fair few run-ins with the law off the pitch, to say the least. On the flip side, he spent £1.4m of his own money to set up a football academy in Sierra Leone under The Craig Bellamy Foundation.

Vincent Kompany the manager of Burnley and his assistant Craig Bellamy after the Sky Bet Championship between Burnley and Cardiff City at Turf Moor on May 08, 2023 — Vincent Kompany has placed his trust in his former Man City team-mate (Image: Getty Images)

Bouts of depression, which would lead to Bellamy excessively drinking, ultimately contributed to the end of his marriage to Claire in 2012, six years after they'd wed. She cited "unreasonable behaviour" as the reason for their divorce.

And as much as Bellamy had made a success of himself for club and country, his troubled upbringing eventually caught up with him. A mix of poor investments and bad spending habits saw the millions he earned drain from his bank account.

Speaking to the Daily Mail earlier this year, he revealed: "I have been living the last five or six years on Death Row, just waiting for someone to put me out.

"I have been waiting for the cell door to open and someone to say: 'Today’s the day'. It’s like the feeling of not being able to look forward to anything.

Nathan Tella of Burnley celebrates with the Sky Bet Championship trophy as players of Burnley celebrate promotion to the Premier League after defeating Cardiff City during the Sky Bet Championship between Burnley and Cardiff City at Turf Moor on May 08, 2023 — Championship winners Burnley welcome Man City in the Premier League opener (Image: Getty Images)

"All the money I’ve earned, I can’t get a mortgage. Financially, I have no future. The hurt of that. I can’t own anything. Everything’s gone."

Burnley rent out a flat for him in Manchester as a result, but the majority of his time is spent at their training ground. Him and Kompany will often book into a local hotel to keep working until late and start again early.

Going from player to coach has not been an easy transition for him. He stepped down from his role at Cardiff's academy in 2019 after accusations of bullying from a youth player, with the club's internal investigation finding an "unacceptable coaching environment".

But as are we all, Bellamy is a work in progress. And he's fully focused on the task at hand, starting with his and Kompany's old club City at the Turf.