For years, Ronnie Stam was known as a hard-working right-back who ran the pitch with determination, helping teams fight for victories.
But his latest headlines have nothing to do with football — instead, they detail his downfall into organised crime.
The 41-year-old former Premier League and Eredivisie winner is now facing seven years behind bars after being caught up in a multi-million-pound drug smuggling ring.
A Key Player in a Different Kind of Game
Dutch prosecutors painted Stam as a “big hitter” in the criminal underworld, accusing him of attempting to smuggle a staggering £48 million worth of cocaine — more than two tonnes — into the Netherlands.
While they initially pushed for a 13-year sentence, he escaped the full brunt of those charges, being acquitted of two of the more serious allegations.
What the Court Found Him Guilty Of
Even without those charges sticking, the court in Breda found more than enough to convict him.
Stam was found guilty of bringing 724 kg of cocaine into the country, along with MDMA and possession of nitrous oxide.
Evidence also linked him to 18 litres of laughing gas and an attempt to smuggle 20 kg of drugs from South America.
Prosecutors claimed he also laundered around £2 million in the process.
His Side of the Story
Stam admitted to one role in the plot — agreeing to smuggle 20 kg of cocaine from Brazil to Frankfurt.
He told the court his payment would have been equivalent to the value of a single kilo.
According to him, that was the limit of his involvement, and he expressed regret for falling in with the wrong crowd.
From the Pitch to Prison
After retiring from football in 2016, Stam’s life took a darker turn.
His playing career had been a respectable one — 73 appearances for Wigan Athletic between 2010 and 2013, a Dutch Eredivisie title with FC Twente under Steve McClaren, a stint with Belgian side Standard Liège, and finally a return to his boyhood club NAC Breda before hanging up his boots.
The Price to Pay
On top of serving seven years in prison, Stam has been ordered to repay £1.7 million in profits the court deemed to have been illegally obtained.
For a man once cheered by thousands in stadiums, the applause has long since faded — replaced by a prison sentence and a permanent stain on his legacy.
