Ex-Man Utd star who is multi-billionaire gave club ultimatum if transfer wasn’t agreed

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has seen his net worth grow exponentially in retirement, and it is now thought he possesses an eye-watering fortune of roughly £4.3billion

Louis Saha carved out a stellar Premier League career that spanned over a decade. But most of the Frenchman’s billion-pound fortune has been accumulated with his boots hung up.

Saha first arrived in England on loan with Newcastle United in 1999 and made his stay permanent when signing for Fulham from Metz one year later. He would leave Craven Cottage for Old Trafford in 2004, before swapping Manchester United for Everton in 2008.

Time with Tottenham and Sunderland followed before a swansong season at Lazio, but it has been through his sporting company, AxisStars, that he has amassed a great deal of wealth. The firm, which tends to “professional athletes and entertainers, their peers and trusted partners,” has seen Saha’s net worth soar to £4.3billion.

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Mirror Football takes a look at Saha’s career, from a telling transfer ultimatum issued during his time in west London to his billionaire-making business venture.

After playing just 11 times for Newcastle during the 1998/99 Premier League season, Saha was snapped up by second-tier side Fulham in 2000 for a moderate £2.1m, but soon made that price tag look cheap.

The Cottagers achieved promotion to the top flight that season, partly thanks to Saha’s 27 league goals, which saw him named in the PFA Team of the Year. In the Premier League, he continued to find the back of the net, scoring eight, five, and 13 league goals in three campaigns for the London side.

However, things soon turned noxious when the Frenchman sought a move to the Red Devils, who had already seen two bids for him rejected in January 2004. To try to force through a move, the then-25-year-old offered up a threatening ultimatum and dubbed Fulham “not honest.”

“The club say they would rather sell me in six months’ time, but I am fed up now,” Saha said back in 2004. “Either I leave now, or I am staying at Fulham until the end of my contract, which finishes in 2006. If Fulham love me that much, they are going to have to cope with me until the end, and then I will leave them for zero euros.”

This rather unsavoury scene was soon resolved when Saha made a £12.8m move to Old Trafford less than two weeks later, being handed the No. 9 shirt that Andy Cole had last worn.

“I am absolutely delighted, it’s a dream come true,” said Saha after signing. “I would like to thank my family and all the people who have helped me through this. I am just happy everything turned out. To leave a great atmosphere like Fulham has been difficult, but I am glad to be joining one of the best clubs in the world.”

Yet, with Wayne Rooney’s arrival and the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Forlan, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy in United’s forward ranks, minutes were scarce for Saha in Manchester.

Saha scored 42 goals in 124 appearances for the club from 2004 until 2008, when Everton signed him up to a ‘pay-as-you-play’ deal. He was plagued by injuries at Goodison Park but still found rich veins of form at times, even scoring in seven consecutive games during the 2009/2010 season.

Tottenham signed him on a free in January 2012, and he scored three goals before being released at the end of the term. Saha then lasted only half a season with Sunderland before calling it quits after a brief spell in Italy with Lazio.

He hasn’t left the spotlight behind, however. Saha has impressively achieved billionaire status as CEO of the company he co-founded with Kate Hamer, an ex-marketer, that is believed to be linked to more than 500 former athletes.

AxisStars’ website displays a photo of Saha alongside Hamer, with a description reading: “Since hanging up his boots, Louis has moved into the world of business where he has used his experience to develop propositions to support athletes and other people in the public eye, in their careers.”

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