A Premier League footballer has been speaking during a trip to Dubai about the need for young players to protect themselves financially

Aston Villa’s Henri Lansbury was one of a number of stars in the city during the international break and said high on the agenda currently is how footballers can best prepare for life when their playing career comes to an end.

He said: “We all think that more than ever there are people attaching themselves to the game who are looking to make some quick money and who don’t care about the player.

“There are so many people coming to players with investment opportunities that it is almost impossible to separate the good from the bad and it is something that we speak about a lot together.

“Coming to Dubai brings lot of footballers together from different clubs and it is great to see a different perspective from outside the changing room you are in.”

Henri has been working with Shalchi and Partners – a wealth management firm in the UK and London – on how footballers can asses the best financial strategy for themselves.

He added: “It has been really interesting for me to do this work and a key factor is that every player is different – some want to walk away from football completely, others want to stay in the game and there are those looking at how to move into other sports.

“What I hope is that a more secure culture develops for footballers now and in the future.”