Selling a winner's medal is never part of a footballer's plan. It is the one item most expect to keep, long after the boots are gone and the crowds have thinned.
This week, Steve Finnan showed how quickly that certainty can disappear. The former Liverpool defender, embroiled in a long-standing dispute with his brother and facing mounting legal costs, sold the Champions League medal he won in Istanbul.
It was a jarring reminder that medals, however precious, can become financial lifelines when careers end and problems mount.
And Finnan is far from alone.