Patrick Bamford reveals the hidden cost of being a professional footballer and nobody knew about it

Patrick Bamford has detailed the surprising thing that footballers have to pay for that fans might not expect.

The 31-year-old striker, who played a bit-part role for Leeds United this season as they secured automatic promotion to the Premier League, came through the ranks at Nottingham Forest before moving to Chelsea in 2012.

After several loan moves as a youngster, he signed for Championship side Middlesbrough in 2017 before joining Leeds the following year. He has since made over 200 first-team appearances for the Yorkshire-based club.

Of course, being a footballer comes with certain requirements.

Optimal nutrition is non-negotiable for all top-level professionals, but the price of food at football clubs is a subject shrouded in mystery. You may be thinking – do footballers pay for their food, or is this included in their contract?

This is likely different depending on each club, but Bamford revealed the situation at Leeds' Thorp Arch training ground.

Speaking on BBC Sounds' 'My Mate's a Footballer podcast', the Englishman was asked how many meals he had on a normal training day.

"Two," Bamford replied.

The host, comedian Joe Wilkinson, then assumed they were free meals, but Bamford batted off this suggestion. "No, we pay for them, it gets deducted from your salary."

He then continued to explain the cost of the meals to the surprise of Wilkinson. "I'm going to say £3.50 a day," Bamford added. "This might be miles off."

Most top players take their eating habits very seriously and employ chefs to keep them up to speed during the season. Kevin De Bruyne even paid for chef Jonny Marsh to cook for his family during the Christmas period in 2016.

"It got to the second or third of January, and we really got on, he really liked the food, and everyone seemed to love it," he told talkSPORT. "I cooked for like 18 people a day for two weeks - it was wild numbers."

Bamford celebrates Premier League promotion. Image credit: Getty

On the topic of food, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes aimed a dig at British cuisine last year.

“I'm in my country, I speak my language, and I have better food,” he said while on international duty with Portugal.

During an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored in November 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo criticised the level of the food at United.

“Nothing changed [since leaving in 2009], surprisingly,” he said. “Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. Even the kitchen, the chefs, whom I appreciate - lovely people. They stopped in time. It surprised me a lot.”