Former Arsenal fan favourite Nicklas Bendtner has opened up on his lavish lifestyle during his professional career.

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Bendtner talks about his lavish lifeSays "money goes fast" as a professional footballerRetired from football at the age of 33GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Bendtner was a talent who came through the Arsenal ranks and was rated as a potential top player for the future, however, the Danish striker never managed to live up to his potential and retired at the age of 33. He has recently revealed issues with painkillers and how it affected his career.

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Speaking to The Daily Mail, Bendtner said: "On the back seats of the Denmark bus, all the older players would always talk about wine. I collected wine since I was 19. When the team met on Monday we would all bring one bottle and taste it. We would have four glasses on the Monday night and talk about the wine. I've got something like 50 thousand bottles of wine now. You know Romanee-Conti? £15,000 per bottle, £140,000 per case. You would buy one case to sell and one to drink.

"When I was 24 I had spent basically all I had but I had bought wine, property, art. The cash flow completely broke. I was left quite alone with my money. I had a lot of support in the club but not so much outside of the pitch. One of the beautiful things I love about myself is that I like to experience different things. I will never say "No, I don't want to try" – I would rather go and try it. The money goes fast when you buy £150,000 wine."

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Bendtner was a well-recognized party animal in the London nightlife scene during his time with Arsenal. The former Gunner also revealed the time when he purchased a Harley-Davidson bike on a night out in Las Vegas but says that he now understands the negative effects of his habits including gambling.

He said: "I bought a Harley Davidson… after a night out in Las Vegas. We didn't need it. We just drove it round a bit and then we gave it back to the shop. I got some of my money back.

"I spent a lot of money on gambling. When you have that high from football, it's very hard to find it in other places. You go gambling to get that feeling and you don't get that unless you have a lot at stake. Blackjack, roulette… we played everything, You could be at the house, you get out a golf ball and put a cup 20 metres away for £1,000 every time you get it in.

"You only play football twice a week so you seek out that kick more and it becomes like a rolling ball. Later on, I realised that it didn't matter if I won or lost, at the end it was just a kick. You have no winners in gambling at the end of the day so I stopped If I burn myself at something I'm quite good at retreating and saying 'no more'. At 24 I learned enough so it was easy to take a step back."

WHAT NEXT FOR BENDTNER?

The Danish superstar has claimed that he has turned his life around for the better following his retirement in 2019 but talked about the importance of guiding current young players to stay on the right path and not stray as he did during his playing days.

He said: "Now players are getting paid about 400k a week… it's important they have good advice and good people around them."