Craig Bellamy was born as Craig Douglas Bellamy in Cardiff, Wales on July 13, 1979. He is a well-known footballer who played in the forward position. He has played for teams in the Premier League such as Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, West Ham United and as well as Manchester City. After the FIFA World Cup 2014, he officially retired from international football. As of June 2016, he is a columnist for The Times.
He started his junior football career in Bristol Rovers in 1988 and stayed there till 1990. After that his senior football career started from Norwich city. Following 2000, he was noticed by Coventry manager Gordon Strachan and he was quite impressed with his skills on the field and he was transferred to Coventry on a 6-million-pound contract. Thus began his foray into international football.
In his football career, he has scored 135 goals in the Premier league and 21 goals from the national team. He was awarded Welsh Player of the Year 2007 among many.
He had married his girlfriend Claire Jensen on June 2006 and they have three children together. Unfortunately, they divorced in December of 2012. They have two sons - Ellis and Cameroon and a daughter - Lexi. Ellis has started becoming active in his community and is a part of the youth development system in Cardiff city. Recently Ellis was selected for the Wales under 16 national team. Ellis has followed in his father's footsteps of becoming the next great footballer.
Bellamy supports the football team Liverpool and Cardiff city, which belongs to his hometown. He also loves mixed martial arts and has sponsored many fighters providing them with gym equipment’s, kits and so on. He owns Cardiff Combat MMA gym based in Cardiff.
Bellamy's life hasn't been without any controversies. He has never been sentenced to any crime, he has been suspected on numerous assault cases. On January 2011, two men suffered facial injuries and Bellamy was arrested and later bailed. On September 22, 2009, Bellamy collided with a heckler that tried to invade the football pitch.
However, it was even more dangerous when Bellamy confronted his then Liverpool teammate John Arne Riise and Bellamy was in the possession of a golf club. It doesn't end there as back in 2006 November; Bellamy was accused of assaulting two women but the court cleared him of any such charges.
Even though he is brash on the field, he has displayed a benevolent character as he supports equality in children. He has established the Craig Bellamy Foundation in Sierra Leone. It is a football academy that supports 32 children in Tombo to gain free football coaching and an international level education. According to a data from 2009, 1600 boys aged 11-19 get trained and coached daily through the Craig Bellamy Foundation.
Bellamy's salary used to be 35,000 pounds. His net worth is estimated at $25,000.
