PEOPLE KNOWN FOR: football (soccer)
Argentine-born football player
Lionel Messi is an Argentine-born football (soccer) player who received a record-setting eight Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s top male player (2009–12, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023). In 2022 he helped...
Portuguese football player
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese football (soccer) forward who is one of the greatest players of his generation. Ronaldo is the winner of five Ballon d’Or awards (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017), and...
president of Chile
Sebastián Piñera was a Chilean businessman and politician who served two terms as president of Chile (2010–14; 2018–22). He was the first conservative to lead the country since the end of the dictatorial...
president of Liberia
George Weah is a Liberian politician and a former football (soccer) player who served as president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before entering politics, his impressive football career included being...
Spanish football player and manager
Pep Guardiola is a Spanish professional football (soccer) manager. Formerly a player, he starred as a defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona (1990–2001) and later managed that team (2008–12) as well as...
Brazilian football player
Neymar is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who has the most international goals of any Brazilian footballer, having scored his 79th goal in 2023 to surpass Brazilian football legend Pelé’s record....
French soccer player
Kylian Mbappé is a French football (soccer) player whose speed and goal scoring as an attacker have made him a dominant force in European club competition. In 2022 he became the first player in football...
German football player
Miroslav Klose German football (soccer) player who played in the center forward position as a striker. Klose is the all-time leading goal scorer for the German men’s national team. He is the record holder...
American soccer player
Megan Rapinoe is a former football (soccer) player who is regarded as one of the sport’s legendary athletes, known for her play on the field and her activism off it. A leading winger, she helped the U.S....
Australian soccer player
Sam Kerr is an Australian football (soccer) player who was named captain of the Matildas, the women’s national team, in 2019. The star striker later became the all-time leading scorer for the team. Kerr...
American soccer player
Alex Morgan is an American professional football (soccer) player who used her speed and strength to become one of the leading scorers in the sport. She helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win...
Ivorian football player
Didier Drogba is an Ivorian professional football (soccer) player who was Côte d’Ivoire’s all-time leader in goals scored in international matches and was twice named the African Footballer of the Year...
Swiss sports executive
Sepp Blatter is a Swiss sports executive who served as the president (1998–2015) of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the governing body of international football (soccer) that...
Brazilian association football player
Marta is a Brazilian athlete who is widely considered the greatest female football (soccer) player of all time. Marta is a six-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year award (2006–10 and 2018),...
French football player and manager
Thierry Henry is a French football (soccer) player and manager who scored more international goals (51) than any other player in France’s history and who is considered one of the most prolific goal scorers...
British athlete
David Beckham is an English former football (soccer) player who gained international fame for his on-field play as well as for his highly publicized personal life. With Manchester United, Beckham developed...
American soccer player
Sofia Huerta is an American football (soccer) player who is a dynamic forward and midfielder, known for her deft scoring touch and playmaking abilities. Huerta has had a unique international career, playing...
British football player
Wayne Rooney is an English professional football (soccer) player who rose to international football stardom as a teenager while playing with the English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United. Rooney...
German football player and coach
Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football (soccer) player and coach who helped West Germany win the 1990 World Cup and was twice named his country’s Footballer of the Year. A prolific goal scorer as a young...
American soccer player
Julie Foudy is a retired football (soccer) midfielder who won two FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup championships (1991 and 1999) and two gold medals (1996 and 2004) during...
Brazilian football player and politician
Romário is a Brazilian football (soccer) player and politician who was one of the most prolific goal scorers in the sport’s history. He won the Golden Ball as most outstanding performer in the 1994 World...
American soccer player
Landon Donovan is an American professional football (soccer) player, widely regarded as the greatest American male player in the history of the sport. Donovan was a star player in high school in Redlands,...
American association football player
Carli Lloyd is an American association football (soccer) player who, as one of the sport’s leading midfielders, helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win two Olympic gold medals (2008 and 2012)...
Cameroonian athlete
Samuel Eto’o is a Cameroonian professional football (soccer) player who is considered one of the greatest African footballers of all time. Eto’o attended the Kadji Sports Academy in Douala, Cameroon, and...
Egyptian soccer player
Mohamed Salah is an Egyptian soccer (association football) player known for his prolific scoring, which made him an invaluable contributor to both the English Premier League and the Egyptian national team....
Colombian football player
René Higuita is a former Colombian football (soccer) goalkeeper who won fans over with his ability to move beyond his area, establishing the role of the “sweeper-keeper,” and his famous “scorpion kick.”...
Brazilian athlete
Ronaldo is a retired football (soccer) player who led Brazil to a World Cup title in 2002 and who won three Player of the Year awards (1996, 1997, and 2002) from the Fédération Internationale de Football...
French football player
Zinedine Zidane is a French football (soccer) player who led his country to victories in the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. He later found success as a manager. After playing for the...
English football player
Steven Gerrard is an English professional football (soccer) player and manager who was considered one of the most-complete footballers in the world in the early 2000s. Gerrard was discovered by his local...
Argentine soccer player
Diego Maradona was an Argentine football (soccer) player who is generally regarded as the top footballer of the 1980s and one of the greatest of all time. Renowned for his ability to control the ball and...
Brazilian athlete
Pelé was a Brazilian football (soccer) player, in his time probably the most famous and possibly the best-paid athlete in the world. He was part of the Brazilian national teams that won three World Cup...
American soccer player
Michelle Akers is a former football (soccer) player who was named Female Player of the 20th Century by the FIFA, an honor she shared with Chinese player Sun Wen. Akers is considered one of the pioneers...
Senegalese athlete
El Hadji Diouf is a Senegalese football (soccer) player who was named African Football Confederation (Confédération Africaine de Football; CAF) Player of the Year for 2001 and 2002. He was a fiery, controversial...
American association football player
Abby Wambach is an American association football (soccer) player who was one of the sport’s leading forwards. She helped the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) win two Olympic gold medals (2004 and 2012)...
Spanish athlete
Xavi is a Spanish football (soccer) player and manager who was widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world in the early 21st century. At age 11 Xavi joined the youth squad of FC Barcelona,...
Ghanaian athlete
Michael Essien is a Ghanaian professional football (soccer) player who rose to international stardom as a midfielder for the English football club Chelsea FC in the 2000s. Essien was raised in Awutu Breku,...
Scottish football player and manager
Alex Ferguson is a Scottish football (soccer) player and manager who was best known for managing Manchester United (1986–2013). Ferguson was the longest-tenured manager in “Man U” history and led the club...
German football player
Birgit Prinz is a former football (soccer) player from Germany, considered by many to be Europe’s finest female footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. Prinz won three FIFA Player of the Year awards (2003–05),...
French football player
Eric Cantona is a French football (soccer) player who was one of the sport’s biggest stars in the 1990s and is best known for his key role in reviving the English powerhouse club Manchester United and...
British athlete
Justin Fashanu was a British football (soccer) player who was the first professional footballer to come out as gay. Fashanu was initially raised in the London area of Hackney, where his Nigerian father...
American soccer player
Trinity Rodman is an American professional football (soccer) player who is a forward for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and is on the United States Women’s National...
Argentine soccer player
Gabriel Batistuta is a former Argentine professional football (soccer) player whose prolific scoring made him an icon of both the Italian Serie A league and the Argentine national team. Batistuta made...
Brazilian football player
Kaká is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who was named the World Player of the Year by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 2007. Kaká owed his nickname to his younger brother...
Uruguayan football player
Diego Forlán is an Uruguayan football (soccer) player who was awarded the Golden Ball as the standout player at the 2010 World Cup. His father, Pablo Forlán, had played for Uruguay in the 1966 and 1974...
German association football player
Manuel Neuer is a German football (soccer) player who, as one of the game’s leading goalkeepers, helped Germany win the 2014 World Cup; for his performance, he received the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s...
German football player
Michael Ballack is a German professional football (soccer) midfielder who was named the German Footballer of the Year three times (2002, 2003, 2005). Ballack grew up in Chemnitz in East Germany during...
Italian football player
Roberto Baggio is an Italian professional football (soccer) player who is widely considered one of the greatest forwards in his country’s storied football history. He won the Fédération Internationale...
Bulgarian football player
Hristo Stoichkov is a Bulgarian football (soccer) player who was an explosive striker, noted for his fierce competitiveness. Stoichkov began his soccer career early. By age 12 he was playing for Maritza...
Brazilian athlete
Rivaldo is a Brazilian football (soccer) player who was among the game’s most revered players in the 1990s and a vital component of the powerful Brazilian national team that included the similarly mono-monikered...
French football player and administrator
Michel Platini is a French professional football (soccer) player and administrator who was named the European Footballer of the Year three times (1983–85) and served as president of the Union of European...
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