• Last update: 22:08
Jhonny van Beukering has fallen into a deep valley after his active career. The 38-year-old former striker tells in an interview with the General Newspaper that he has had a few very difficult years because of money problems. Van Beukering currently works as a doorman at strip club De Nacht in Tilburg.
Van Beukering successively played for Vitesse, PEC Zwolle, De Graafschap, NEC, Go Ahead Eagles, Feyenoord, the Indonesian Pelita Jaya and FC Dordrecht before he had to end his active career at the age of 28 due to injury. His passage in Indonesia has thrown Van Beukering into trouble, as the now closed club never paid a salary despite several lawsuits. As a result, Van Beukering had to sell his two houses and he and his family were forced to live with his mother for a while.
“I went from paradise to hell. People have no idea how deep I’ve been. I had lost everything, really everything. We had to live with the family on fifty euros a week,” says Van Beukering in conversation with the General Newspaper† With his girlfriend and three children, he was in debt restructuring between 2017 and 2021. At that time he did volunteer work in Velp-Zuid. “I was standing there at the church or in front of the mosque giving away food packages from the Food Bank. Food packages that my family and I actually needed ourselves, because we had nothing in the house. Well, believe me, that does something to you.”
“Let it be a warning to other footballers who are planning to embark on a foreign adventure in a special country. Think about your money, know what you’re getting yourself into, don’t be surprised,” emphasizes Van Beukering, who was still working as a trainer in amateur football after his active career. Now he works during the week in mental health care and in that capacity he teaches, among other things, elderly gymnastics in his hometown of Velp.
In addition, Van Beukering is deployed as a security guard at fairs and on weekends he works as a doorman at strip club De Nacht in Tilburg. “Wonderful work. Watching tits for hours, who wouldn’t want that?” says Van Beukering with a smile. “This is by far the best club I’ve ever worked for.”
