The List of Footballers Who Promoted the OmegaPro Scam
Walk of Shame! The OmegaPro MLM marketing fraud recruited celebrities from Hollywood and global soccer to promote the scheme. Here is a list of some of them
The OmegaPro scam, one of the biggest global financial frauds of this century, used many film and sports stars to promote the fraud.
In fact, a major part of the marketing strategy depended on the idea that victims were deliberately enticed by celebrity endorsements.
One of the most significant groups of celebrity influencers to be involved in the scam were international soccer players. In June 2022, for example, at an OmegaPro Convention attended by over 10,000 people, eight of the worlds’ most famous footballers showed up to promote the fraud.
The recent arrest of one of the founders, co-founder Andreas Szakacs in Turkey, has created the possibility that investors may in fact begin to get funds back. However, it is early days yet.
In the meantime, here is a list of many of the globally famous soccer players who were paid to promote the fraud. It will be updated as more evidence comes to light.
Portugal
Luis Figo. Played for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.
Italy
Marco Materazzi. Series B and C Italian football teams, as well as Everton, the Premier League, Perugia and Inter Milan.
France
Christian Karembeu. Played for Nantes, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Middlesbrough, Olympiacos, Servette and Bastia.
David Trezeguet. Played for Club Atlético Platense, Monaco, and Juventus
Mikaël Silvestre. Played for Manchester United, Rennes, Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Portland Timbers and Chennaiyin.
Ibrahim Ba. Played for Le Havre AC, Bordeaux, A.C. Milan, Bolton Wanderers, Çaykur Rizespor, and Djurgårdens IF.
Youri Djorkaeff. Played for Grenoble, RC Strasbourg, AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Kaiserslautern, Bolton Wanderers, Black Rovers, MetroStars, and the New York Bulls.
Spain
Fernando Hierro. Played for Valladolid, Real Madrid, Spanish national team and the Bolton Wanderers.
Iker Casillas. Played for. Currently a football commentator. Played for Real Madrid and FC Porto.
MÃchel Salgado. Played for RC Celta de Vigo, Real Madrid and Blackburn Rovers
Holland
Patrick Kluviert. Played for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national team.
Wesley Sneijder. Dutch national team, Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Galatasaray, Nice and Al-Gharafa.
Frank de Boer. Played for Ajax, Barcelona, Galatasaray, Rangers, Al-Rayyan and Al-Shamal.
Hungary
Kevin Kurányi. Played for VfB Stuttgart, Schalke 04, Dynamo Moscow and 1899 Hoffenheim,
UK
John Terry. Captained Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa.
Mexico
Rafael Marquez. Played for Atlas, Monaco, Barcelona, New York Red Bulls, León, and Hellas Verona.
Columbia
Faryd Mondragón. Played for Deportivo Cali, Independiente, Zaragoza, Metz, Galatasaray and 1. FC Köln.
Carlos Valderrama. Played for the Columbian national team, Unión Magdalena, Millonarios, Deportivo Cali, Montpellier, Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion, and Colorado Rapids.
Falcao. Currently still playing professional soccer for the Millonarios. He has also played for Lanceros Boyacá, River Plate, Porto, Atlético Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Galatasaray, and Rayo Vallecano.
Faustino Asprilla. Played for Parma, Newcastle United, and Palmeiras.
Mario Yepes. Played for Nantes, Paris Saint-Germain, Chievo, the Columbian national team, and Deportivo Cali, which he also managed.
Brazil
Ronaldinho. Played for Gremio, Paris Saint-Germain, and Barcelona
Roberto Carlos. Brazilian. Played for the Brazil National Team, Inter Milan and Real Madrid
Kevin Kuranyi. Played for German national team, VfB Stuttgart, Schalke, Dynamo Mosco and 1899 Hoffenheim.
VinÃcius Júnior. Played for Flamengo and Real Madrid.
Argentina
Paulo Dybala. Played for the Argentinian national team, Instituto de Córdoba, Palermo, Juventus, and Roma, for whom he still plays with a contract that runs out in 2025.
Javier Saviola. Played for Barcelona, Real Madrid, Benfica and Olympiacos.
Peru
Claudio Pizzaro. Captain of Peruvian national team, Deportivo Pesquero, Alianza Lima, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and F.C. Köln. Currently club ambassador for Bayern Munich.
Jefferson Farfán. Played for Alianza Lima, PSV Eindhoven, Schalke 04, Al-Jazira, Lokomotiv, and the Peruvian national team.
Uruguay
Diego Lugano. Played for Plaza Colonia, Club Nacional de Football, São Paulo FC
Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-Germain, Malaga and West Bromwich Albion.
Ivory Coast
Didier Drogba. Captain of the Ivory Coast national team and Chelsea.
Nigeria
Jay-Jay Okocha. Played for Borussia Neunkirchen, 1. F.C. Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe, Paris Saint-German, Bolton Wanderers, and Hull City.
Nwankwo Kanu. Played for Nigerian national team, Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan, Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth.
Cameroon
Samuel Eto’o. Current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation and African Player of the Year four times. Played for Real Madrid, Mallorca and Barcelona
Saudi Arabia
Sami Al-Jaber. Played for Al-Hilal, and briefly for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Most of the soccer players involved were past their playing days, but a few, including on this list, are either still playing or otherwise involved in the game.
Some of the players, like Okocha, have gotten into trouble with the law after their football careers were over.
However, so far, all of the celebrities involved have stayed silent, even as the scam fell apart. Now that victims are coming forward to report the crime to their local police, those who received money to deceive victims should not only pay that money back, but apologize.