Dion Dublin’s Net Worth
He started out as a footballer and has since turned pundit, company director, television presenter, musician and more. Here we look at each component of his career as we assess Dion Dublin’s net worth.
So, what is Dion Dublin’s net worth?
With Dublin’s football career starting way back in the 1980s it is fair to say he had a far more humble beginning than many of the young footballers that break into the professional game nowadays. A long career though combined with TV duties and a flair for being creative in the music industry have seen him amass a healthy net worth. Right now, Dion Dublin’s net worth stands at £14m.
Early Life
Dublin’s parents, Eddie and Rose, both came to England as part of the Windrush generation. In April 1969 they had Dion. It would see him become the youngest of five children with the family rooted in Leicester. His folks were a hard working and caring duo with his mum a nurse and his dad juggling music and football. When push came to shove for his dad though he ultimately plumped for music, where he played bass in support of the legendary Rod Stewart. In doing so he, turned down the opportunity of penning a deal with Fulham football club.
Despite his old man opting for music, Dublin himself was equally obsessed with both forms of entertainment. He spent his early years playing football with his best known youth side being Wigston Fields. Trials at professional clubs followed and at 10-years-old Dublin joined the Leicester City youth system. Unfortunately though, five years later he was told he “wasn’t good enough”.
Dublin was ready to turn his back on football. He explored other industries including working in the fitness industry and even in factories. Thankfully, he had the full support of his father. His dad reached out to every club in the English professional pyramid. It changed Dublin’s life.
Working hard to catch a break
After the push by his dad, Dublin was approached by Norwich City; it was a deal that saw 16-year-old Dublin wave goodbye to Leicester and head three hours east to Norfolk’s crown jewel. Three years and just six second string appearances followed for the Canaries before Dublin joined a local side – Kings Lynn. The move worked out well and, very quickly, Dublin ended up in the lower leagues with Cambridge. His goal scoring prowess was a huge part of what propelled Cambridge through the divisions where they peaked with a fifth place finish in the second tier. That was enough for them to enter the playoffs but glory never came; Dublin was due a move.
In August 1992, Dublin became a left field choice for Manchester United. The Red Devils had been rebuffed by then Southampton striker Alan Shearer so instead coughed up £1m for Dublin’s signature. Dublin would have been pulling in around £2-3k per week. Things started well for Dublin at Old Trafford as he grabbed a winning goal early in his career but a big injury saw his new team move into the transfer market once again and, unfortunately for Dublin, Eric Cantona rocked up in the red half of Manchester and the rest, as they say, is history. Dublin never got a real chance to shine.
25 months after penning that deal at United, Dublin was on the move again; this time for a figure of £2m and heading for Coventry.
The best period of his career
Coventry
After penning that aforementioned £2m deal at Coventry, Dublin set about building a reputation as one of the top strikers in the Premier League. His debut season at Highfield Road, where he was managed by one of the best right backs of all time Phil Neal, saw him impress massively. He scored 13 goals that season. It was the first of six seasons on the bounce where Dublin hit double figures in the Premier League. That said, his inaugural campaign in sky blue didn’t do much for the fate of boss Neal. During the 1995/96 campaign Neal was replaced at the helm by Ron Atkinson. The change in manager didn’t hamper Dublin’s ability to score goals though as he scored 14 goals across that season.
By November 1996, Dublin would see a third manager arrive at Coventry. This time it was out with Atkinson and in with Gordon Strachan. As was the case previously, Dublin continued to score goals with consummate ease netting 13 in the 1996/97 season but the next season saw him reach new heights. He fired Coventry to what was their best ever Premier League finish netting 18 goals – plus another three in cup competitions. Those 18 goals saw him share the Golden Boot with Chris Sutton and then teenage sensation Michael Owen. It was during that season that Dublin, who was by now Coventry’s club captain, was called into the England set up; we’ll come onto this shortly. It was, however, the end of his Coventry career.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa splashed the cash on Dublin towards the back end of 1998 in a near £6m deal; the contract on offer was worth £20k per week and would run for five and a half years. It was a big outlay at the time but Dublin quickly set about repaying them. His first campaign in claret and blue saw him score 11 goals in 24 league matches including bagging a hat-trick in just his second match for the club. The next season Dublin hit double figures again. This time bagging 12 goals but the campaign would prove a memorable one for Dublin for a different reason.
During a pre-Christmas clash with Sheffield Wednesday Dublin rather needlessly charged through Owls man Gerald Sibon. It was the Villa player that came out on the wrong side of the challenge though as he suffered a broken neck. Despite having a metal plate fitted in his neck, Dublin was back in action just a few months later. Some would argue that puts him alongside some of the hardest footballers of all time. Regardless of your views on that one thing is for sure; Dublin never recovered the same goal scoring form. From the 2000/01 campaign through to his Villa exit during the 2003/04 season Dublin scored 25 goals. That’s by no means a pathetic return. it is, however, a notable step down from the rate he was bagging at. It should be noted that a period of that time was spent on loan at second tier Millwall.
Life after Villa
On leaving Aston Villa, Dublin waved goodbye to the end of his playing career in the top flight. Leicester City, then of the First Division, picked him up on a free transfer. Despite the drop in level, Dublin couldn’t establish himself back on the goal trail and actually spent most of his time playing at centre back. His contract was terminated 18 months after joining the Foxes. He was almost immediately snapped up by another club though. This time he moved out of England for the first time in his career for a short spell north of the border. Dublin’s former boss, Strachan, brought him to Celtic Park. He was only in Glasgow for a matter of months but contributed to a League and League Cup double.
Dublin ended his career back where it had started – at Norwich City. Dublin, despite being well into his thirties, spent the best part of two years at Carrow Road before calling time on his career. He bowed out to a standing ovation. On top of that he’d been named Player of the Year at the grand age of 39 as well.
A short lived but honoured England career
Dublin can count himself unfortunate to only boast four England caps. All of them came in 1998 but none of them during the World Cup that was held in France that year. The then Aston Villa striker had shown fine form on the domestic side throughout the 1997/98 season hence he earned his debut in the February. He played the entirety of that match before adding another start and one sub appearance to his name in a mini-tournament – the King Hassan II Cup.
He was then overlooked for a place in the squad at France 98. That was in spite of top scoring in the Premier League. Just a few months later his last ever cap came his way. Somewhat strangely, Dublin’s England career spanned just 10 months and four games but with the striker starting 75% of those games. He never scored with the Three Lions on his chest.
Television Career
After hanging up his football boots, Dublin turned his hand to television work in a big way. Punditry work is pretty standard for ex-pros. Dublin though has been a long term fixture in this field and continues to feature on programs such as Match of the Day, which is regularly hosted by Gary Lineker, and Football Focus. Beyond those BBC shows, Dublin has carried out punditry and co-commentary gigs for the likes of Sky and on numerous radio shows. Most recently, Dublin has formed part of the BBC team for the Qatar World Cup. He’s provided punditry and carried out co-commentary duty – notably in the opening game of the tournament.
The more left field elements of Dublin’s television career have seen him rock up as a guest on MasterChef. He went all the way to the final. Dublin ultimately finished fourth in the rankings losing out to Megan McKenna, Joe Swash and Kadeena Cox. The latter won the competition. More noteworthy though is Dublin’s gig presenting on much loved daytime TV show Homes Under the Hammer. Whilst his performances on camera have earned him much praise, one thing that has been angled at Dublin is the fact he received £50k worth of training through a “Diversity Creative Talent Fund’. Many people were disappointed that such funding should go to someone with the privileged position of Dublin.
During the 2022 World Cup, Dublin showcased his light and humorous side with a Homes Under the Hammer style rundown of the television studio. Gary Lineker posted the video on social media with the clip racking up 35,000 likes across Twitter and Instagram.
Dublin’s other noteworthy news
The biggest strings in Dublin’s bow are unquestionably his playing career and the career he’s created in television. That’s not all Dublin does. For one thing, he’s not forgotten his roots. He’s a director at Cambridge United, where he’s been in situ since the summer of 2021.
Dublin also teamed up with ex-Liverpool man and now pundit Graeme Souness to support ex-professional footballers who struggle with post-retirement injury problems. The initiative is intended to support players that have lasting damage from the physical stress of the game where they cannot afford the required treatment. After all, not all players played in today’s game of inflated wages.
Furthermore, Dublin has dabbled with the music scene. Sure, he’s no Ed Sheeran but he has released songs and performed on stage since calling time on football. In fact, he even invented a musical instrument – the dube. You can buy these on Dublin’s dube website. The instruments retail for up to £320 a pop along with covers, stands and other dube based merchandise.
It might not sound much but it all contributes Dion Dublin’s net worth. That stands at somewhere in the region of £14m.