Famous Footballers

David Beckham is one of Britain's most iconic athletes whose name is also an elite global advertising brand. He was captain of the English national team from 2000 to 2009, scored in three different FIFA World Cups, and played midfield for clubs in Manchester, England, Madrid, Spain, and Milan, Italy; he also won the MLS Cup playing for Los Angeles Galaxy in 2011 and 2012.

He was born David Robert Joseph Beckham on May 2, 1975, in Leytonstone, East London, England, to Sandra Georgina (West), a hairdresser, and David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham, a kitchen fitter. Beckham's maternal grandfather was Jewish, and David has mentioned the religion as an influence; he wears a tattoo written in Hebrew from the 'Song of Songs' in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), albeit he is not known to practice Judaism or any other faith. Beckham has always played in long sleeve shirts to cover up his tattoos in consideration of others who may feel uncomfortable due to their beliefs.

He was brought up by his parents, supporters of Manchester United, attended Bobby Charlton's football school in Manchester, and won a spot in a training session at FC Barcelona as a child. In 1986 he was a Manchester United's mascot for a match against West Ham United. From 1992 - 2003 Beckham made almost 400 appearances for Manchester United and scored 85 goals, although his official record counts only 62 goals in 265 official senior team's matches. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup he played all of England's qualifying matches and scored in several important victories. He received a red card for violent conduct in England's match against Argentina, albeit his opponent later admitted to trying to send Beckham off by over-reacting to their contact during the game and by urging the referee to send Beckham off. After losing the game England was eliminated, Beckham was made a scapegoat and became the target of criticism and abuse in media.

He had a good season in 1999 - 2000 and helped Manchester United to win the Premier League. At that time, he married singer Victoria Beckham (nee' Adams) from the popular musical group The Spice Girls, and the couple had their first son, Brooklyn, born in 1999. That same year, Beckham was given a permission to miss training routine, in order to look after his son Brooklyn, who suffered from a stomach infection. Meanwhile, the Manchester United's manager, Alex Ferguson, fined Beckham £50,000 (about $80,000 then) the maximum amount that was permitted, for babysitting with his sick child, while his wife was spotted at a London fashion Week event on the same night. Ferguson's claim that Beckham should be able to train if his wife stayed home that day, caused a serious personal tension between two men. In February 2003, following the defeat to Arsenal, the Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson entered the changing room and kicked a football boot that struck Beckham over the eye, causing a cut that required stitches.

David Beckham has been a good scorer and a major attraction for public. On the field he has been demonstrating his consistent ability to see a big picture even under severe pressure during the most rapidly changing and unpredictable games. His field vision has been remarkable, allowing him to create many assists in a number of important matches. Beckham's forte has been his delivery from the right-hand side as well as his efficient free kicks. His superior performances in the midfield position has required a higher physical endurance through the entire game. "David Beckham's right foot" was mentioned, although humorously, as one of British national treasures in the movie Love Actually (2003).

He signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid, beginning on July 1, 2003, and worth a potential 40 million dollars. In Madrid, Beckham was not allowed to wear his favorite number seven, because another player had the right to wear it written into his contract. Beckham decided to wear the number 23 instead, being a big fan of Michael Jordan. He immediately became popular with the Real Madrid fans, but the team did not perform well enough to win either the Spanish League or the Champions League. However, Beckham remained a reliable scorer and his performances attracted more public. His shirts sales and other merchandising deals remained lucrative for the club, which continued to under-perform, regardless of the Real's management's higher expectations.

In 2005 Beckham became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. He was also involved in promoting London's successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. His third season in Madrid was unremarkable, and he was criticized a lot, mainly because the team finished second to Barcelona in Spanish "La Liga" and lost to Arsenal in the European Champions League. However, during that season, he expanded his international presence by establishing football academies in Los Angeles and East London. During the FIFA World Cup 2006, he played for England, and became the first ever English player to score in three World Cups. In the quarter final game against Portugal, Beckham was replaced because of his injury in the middle of the game. Without him the English team lost and was knocked out of the World Cup.

In June 2007 Beckham played his final game for Real Madrid, winning a medal and celebrating with his friends Tom and Katie Cruse, who attended the game. This was his fourth, and last season there, ending his contract with the club. He announced that he had signed a five-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy from July 1, 2007 through June 2012. The 5-year deal includes up to $10 million a year in direct salary, and with merchandising endorsements and profit-sharing could earn Beckham up to $50 million a year, and may end up worth about $250 million in five years, making him one of the highest earning athletes of all time.

In 2009, in a unique time share agreement David played on loan at AC Milan to maintain his fitness after ending the season with the Galaxy. He ended up staying with Milan for five months, from January to May 2009. In 2010, he also arranged to embark on a second loan spell at AC Milan from the Galaxy, to play for Milan for another five months. He said that he "genuinely enjoyed playing for Milan."

In 2011, after winning his first MLS Cup, his five-year deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy ended. At that time, Beckham was invited to play for Paris Saint-Germain. But the 36-year-old player said "My family and I are incredibly happy and settled in America and we look forward to spending many more years here... I am still passionate about playing in America and winning trophies with the Galaxy" he stated after signing another two-year contract with the Los Angeles club.

In 2012, Beckham helped the Los Angeles Galaxy to retain their championship by defeating the Houston Dynamo 3-1 in the final game and winning the MLS Cup 2012. His last appearance for Los Angeles was on December 2, 2012. Beckham's jersey No 23 has been the best selling in the MLS and one of the best in the world, as he expands his image as one of sport's leading icons. Although he plays his best in the right of midfield, Beckham can be dangerous anywhere in the field and can make a difference in a big game with a pass, a cross, or a free kick. Arguably no one in the game can rival Beckham's accuracy in free kicks, as he can put that ball on a teammate's head with uncanny precision. He is still a decisive player, regardless of age.

In January 2013, David Beckham signed a 5 month contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Beckhams, who have become known as "Posh and Becks", have four children: three sons - Brooklyn Joseph Beckham (born 1999, in London), Romeo James Beckham (born 2002, in London), Cruz David Beckham (born 2005, in Madrid), and daughter Harper Seven (born in 2011, in Los Angeles).

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh football coach and former player. He was most recently the manager of the Wales national team. He is also a co-owner of Salford City. Giggs played his entire professional career for Manchester United and briefly served as the club's interim manager after the sacking of David Moyes in April 2014. Giggs is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation.

The son of rugby union and Wales international rugby league footballer Danny Wilson, Giggs was born in Cardiff but moved to Manchester at the age of six when his father joined Swinton RLFC. Predominantly a left midfielder, he began his career with Manchester City, but joined Manchester United on his 14th birthday in 1987. He made his professional debut for the club in 1991 and spent the next 23 years in the Manchester United first team. At the end of the 2013-14 season, he was named as Manchester United's interim player-manager following the sacking of David Moyes. He was named as assistant manager under Moyes' permanent replacement, Louis van Gaal, on 19 May 2014; he retired from playing the same day holding the club record for competitive appearances - 963. At international level, Giggs played for the Wales national team 64 times between 1991 and 2007 and was named as the captain of the Great Britain team that competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is one of only 28 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances.

Giggs is one of the most decorated footballers of all time. During his time at United, he won 13 Premier League winner's medals- more than any other player in history, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals, two UEFA Champions League winner's medals, a FIFA Club World Cup winners medal, an Intercontinental Cup winner's medal, a UEFA Super Cup winner's medal and nine FA Community Shield winner's medals. Manchester United and Liverpool are the only clubs in English football history to have won more league championships than Giggs. Giggs captained United on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007-08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries.

Giggs also has many personal achievements. He was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993), though he did not win the PFA Player of the Year award until 2009. He was the only player to play in each of the first 22 seasons of the Premier League, as well as the only player to score in each of the first 21 seasons. He was elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the Premier League Team of the Decade in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs holds the record for the most assists in Premier League history, with 162. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. In addition to the many honors Giggs has received within football, he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List for his services to football.

Eric Cantona is most known for his skill on the soccer field. Starring at Old Trafford, Manchester United's homeground, Cantona got the nickname "The King". The controversial striker has been praised as the one who brought back the trophies to one of the world's most famous soccer clubs. Cantona is well-known for being banned from playing soccer for 8 months after kicking a fan during a match. His career at Old Trafford was like a marriage: filled with passion, and turbulent. And just as shocking as his arrival, was his departure. Out of the blue, Man Utd called for a press conferance during the summer of 1997 announcing Cantona's retirement. He felt it was time to concentrate on acting and painting. The controversial Frenchman is a gifted individual, who always will go his own ways.

Gary Winston Lineker OBE was English football's most famous striker in the 1980s and early 1990s. A unique blend of skill, intelligence and charm, he was venomous up front and yet also a superb professional, who rarely lost his temper. During his 14 year long professional career, Lineker was never cautioned, let alone sent off - very few footballers have achieved this feat.

He achieved stardom with Everton F.C., after initially playing for Leicester City F.C. He then had spells with F.C. Barcelona and other big clubs before returning to Tottenham Hotspur. After this, he played two years in Japan for Nagoya Grampus Eight before a foot injury finished his career and he returned to England, to become a TV pundit and presenter for the BBC. Through all these years, he was England's man up front, saving them more than once during the big matches. He has captained them for a few years too.

As an example of his value: in the 1986 World Cup, England had a lousy 1 point from the first two matches against Portugal and Morocco. Lineker's hat-trick saw England win 3-0 against Poland, and on England went into the quarter-finals, where they beat Paraguay 3-0 as well, before crashing out to Argentina, thanks to one of the greatest goals of all-time scored by Diego Maradona. Guess who scored England's only goal of the match...

When England was trailing 1-2 to Cameroon in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Lineker produced two penalties by his dazzling runs, and scored from both, securing England's 3-2 victory. In the next match, he became one of only three England men's players ever to have scored in a World Cup semi-final (the others being Bobby Charlton against Portugal in 1966 and Kieran Trippier against Croatia in 2018) when he capitalized on a rare mistake by the West German defence and equalized for England with an extremely cold-blooded strike when England were trailing 1-0. The equalizer in the 80th minute sent the game into extra time and then penalties, making it one of the most epic and memorable games in England's history.

Landon Donovan was born on 4 March 1982 in Ontario, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Cubed (2009), Bad Jokes (2018) and Match of the Day 2 (2004). He has been married to Hannah Bartell since 3 May 2015. They have two children. He was previously married to Bianca Kajlich.

Simply he was, and for many people still is, the greatest football player of the world. Not a single thing was impossible for him: he won three World Cups with his National Team of Brazil (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970). He scored more than 1.200 goals during his long career (more than 1.300 official matches). He also won many national Leagues and Continental Cups ("Copa Libertadores"), with his team, the Santos Futebol Clube (of Brazilian 'São Paulo' State). In the '60s, he was nick-named "O Rei" (The King), and in the '70s, ninety-five people out of 100 knew his name. ("Wow, man, you're popular!" said Robert Redford, some years ago, after seeing Pelé give dozens of autographs in New York while he was not asked for one). In the late 1960s, when he and his team, Santos, went to Nigeria to play a few friendly matches, the ongoing civil war stopped for the duration of his visit. He finished his career in the New York Cosmos, in 1977. He later became a United Nations Ambassador and has been also Minister for Sports in his country, but, for the people who saw him make magics with his right foot, he is, now and forever, the biggest footballer in the world, and the one and only "King".

Zinedine Yazid Zidane (born 23 June 1972), nicknamed "Zizou", is a French former professional football player and current manager of Real Madrid. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was an elite play-maker, renowned for his elegance, vision, ball control and technique, and played as an attacking midfielder for Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid. At club level, Zidane won two Serie A league titles with Juventus, before he moved to Real Madrid for a world record fee of EUR77.5 million in 2001, which remained unmatched for the next eight years. In Spain, Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League, with his left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final considered to be one of the greatest goals in the competition's history. Zidane also won an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup with both teams.

Capped 108 times by France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the final and being named to the All-Star Team, while also winning UEFA Euro 2000, being named Player of the Tournament. The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the Légion d'honneur in 1998. He also received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, despite his infamous sending off in the final against Italy for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. He retired as the fourth-most capped player in France history.

Zidane received many individual accolades as a player, including being named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001, and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé, and in the same year was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Zidane is one of eight players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or, and was the ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first Arab country to host the tournament.

After retiring as a player, Zidane transitioned into coaching, and began as his head coaching career at Real Madrid Castilla. He remained in the position for two years before taking the helm of the first team in January 2016. In his two and a half seasons with Madrid, Zidane won the UEFA Champions League an unprecedented three times consecutively, a La Liga title, a Supercopa de Espana, and the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each. His success saw him named Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2017, but he resigned in May 2018. Following poor results by Real Madrid in the subsequent months, Zidane returned to the club as manager in March 2019.

Patrick Kluivert is a Dutch former football player and coach and the academy director of FC Barcelona. He is the former director of football for Paris Saint-Germain. Kluivert was the assistant manager of Cameroon National Football Team. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands National Football Team.

He was part of Ajax's Golden Generation of the 1990s at the age of 18, scoring the winner in the 1995 UEFA Champions League Final. He spent six years with Spanish club Barcelona where he formed a successful partnership with Rivaldo, where both won the Spanish La Liga championship of 1999 and Kluivert scored 124 goals from 249 appearances in all.

Kluivert played for the Netherlands National Football Team from 1994 to 2004. With 40 goals in 79 appearances, he is the third highest top goalscorer for Oranje. He played in three European Championships and the 1998 FIFA World Cup France (1998), and was joint top scorer at UEFA Euro 2000 (2000) where upon the scoresheet he tallied a total of 5 times.

He began his coaching career as an assistant at AZ Alkmaar and then NEC Nijmegen. He had a brief coaching stint in Australia with the Brisbane Roar, before coaching FC Twente to a national title in the Dutch reserves league. He was assistant manager to Louis van Gaal with the Netherlands National Football Team when they finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (2014). In 2015, he took over as head coach of the Curaçao national team for the country's 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia (2018) qualifying and the 2017 Caribbean Cup qualifying campaigns. In 2016, it was announced that he would take over the Ajax A1 (under-19) selection, coaching his son, Justin Kluivert, before taking a position as director of football for Paris Saint-Germain.

Alessandro Del Piero, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer, generally considered one of the best footballers of all time. He plays for Juventus in Italy. Pelè named Del Piero in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelè as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations while Brazilian star Ronaldinho proclaimed that Del Piero is his idol. Del Piero was also voted in the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In the year 2000, Del Piero was the world's best-paid football player from salary, bonuses and advertising revenue. Del Piero is still the highest earning Italian Player. Along with three awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality and playing ability. Del Piero usually plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers, known in Italy as the "Trequartista" position. Although he is not very tall, Del Piero's playing style is regarded by critics as creative in attacking, assisting many goals as well as scoring himself, as opposed to just "goal poaching." His free-kick and penalty taking is also highly regarded. Del Piero has become famous over the years for scoring from a special " Del Piero Zone", approaching from the left flank and curling a precise lob into the far top corner of the goal. In terms of goalscoring, Del Piero holds the all-time record at Juventus. On April 6th, 2008, Alessandro Del Piero became the all-time highest-capped Juventus player, ahead of Juve legend Gaetano Scirea. He is in sixth place in the UEFA Champions League all-time goalscorer records. Within the Italian national team, he is joint fourth with Roberto Baggio in the all-time scoring records. During the 2008-2009 summer pre-season Del Piero played during Juventus' English tour, in which they played Hamburger SV and Arsenal F.C. in the Emirates Cup, and played a friendly versus Manchester United in Old Trafford. In the match he was substituted and was given a standing ovation by all Manchester United fans. Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri believes Del Piero will have as good of a season,or an even better season than last term. (In August 2008), Del Piero announced that he'll try to keep playing professional football with Juve until he is 40 years old. (On September 17, 2008) Juventus returned to the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Zenit, in which Alessandro scored from a free kick, 38 metres away. Again in the Champions League, he was the match winner for Juventus, (on the 5th of November) he scored both goals at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid, becoming the first Juve player to have scored two goals in the same match in this ground. Near the end of the match he was substituted and was given a standing ovation by the whole crowd including the Real Madrid fans. Del Piero is married to Sonia Amoruso, the two have been together (since 1999) and married (in 2005). The couple announced in July 2007 that they are expecting their first baby. (On October 22, 2007), Amoruso gave birth to baby boy Tobias Del Piero at 0:20 at Sant'Anna hospital in Turin. Del Piero has used his fame and money to promote and support cancer research; in recognition of this he has received from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro a prize of "Believe in Research" (during November 2006). When the Olympic Flame for the (2006) Winter Olympics passed through Turin, Del Piero was a torchbearer. He has an interest in sports outside of football and in turn has gained fans outside of just football, sport icons such as NBA star Steve Nash and cycling legend Eddy Merckx have stated that they are fans of Del Piero. As well as an interest in other sports, Del Piero also has a keen interest in music. He has even recorded some albums of his own. Del Piero is an Oasis fan and is a friend of Noel Gallagher and appeared in the video for the group's single Lord Don't Slow Me Down; Del Piero claimed Gallagher was Italy's lucky mascot in their (2006 World Cup) success and invited him to the final and the team hotel after victory. Along with Marco Materazzi, Del Piero appeared on stage at a Rolling Stones show in Milan shortly after Italy's World Cup win.

Kieron Courtney Dyer is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was recently the U23s manager at Ipswich Town.

Born in Ipswich, Dyer played youth football for his home club Ipswich Town before going on to make nearly 100 league appearances for the club's first team. He was sold to Newcastle United for £6 million, at the time the highest fee paid for an Ipswich player, and made nearly 200 appearances for Newcastle between 1999 and 2007. A move for the same fee to West Ham United followed, but Dyer suffered from various injuries, restricting him to 30 league appearances in four seasons. After a short loan back to Ipswich in March 2011, he signed for newly promoted club Queens Park Rangers ahead of their 2011-12 Premier League season. However, his time at QPR was again blighted by injuries and he made just eight appearances for the club before being released in January 2013, spending the rest of the season at Middlesbrough before retiring.

Dyer represented England on 33 occasions between 1999 and 2007. He was a member of the England squads which reached the quarter-finals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2004.

Edwin van der Sar is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a member of the club's golden generation and was part of the Ajax team that won the UEFA Champions League in 1995. A goalkeeper, he left Ajax for Juventus in 1999, where he spent two years before moving to England, first to Fulham and then to Manchester United in 2005. There he won a second Champions League title in 2008, making him one of just eight players at the time to have won the competition with more than one club. He retired as a professional in 2011, but briefly came out of retirement in 2016 to play a match for Dutch amateur team VV Noordwijk, for whom he had previously played as a youth. He played 130 times for the Netherlands national team, and was the nation's most-capped player until 2017, when he was overtaken by Wesley Sneijder.

Van der Sar is considered by critics and fellow players as one of the best goalkeepers of all time. He is also one of the most successful footballers ever, having won 26 major trophies in his career, mainly at Ajax and Manchester United. During the 2008-09 season, he set a world record by not conceding a league goal for 1,311 minutes. He is also the oldest player to win the Premier League, having done so in 2011 at the age of 40 years and 205 days. Van der Sar has won several individual awards, including Best European Goalkeeper in 1995 and 2009, and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009.

Diego Armando Maradona is an Argentine football manager and retired professional footballer.

Maradona was the coach of Argentine Primera División club Gimnasia de La Plata. He is regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. He was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition.

He played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, FC Barcelona, S.S.C. Napoli, Sevilla F.C. and Newell's Old Boys during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli and Barcelona where he won numerous accolades.

In his international career with Argentina National Football Team, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four FIFA World Cups, including the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico (1986) where he captained Argentina and led them to victory over West Germany National Football Team in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico (1986) quarterfinal, he scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over England National Football Team that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized handling foul known as the 'Hand of God', while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble past five England players, voted 'Goal of the Century' by FIFA.com voters in 2002.

Maradona became coach of Argentina National Football Team in November 2008. He was in charge of the team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (2010) in South Africa before leaving at the end of the tournament.

Lothar Herbert Matthäus is a German football pundit and former player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or. In 1991, he was named the first FIFA World Player of the Year, and remains the only German to have received the award. He was also included in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020.

Marcel "Marco" van Basten is a Dutch football manager and retired professional player, who played for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team, as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he scored 300 goals in a high-profile career, but played his last match in 1993, at the of age 28, due to an injury which forced his retirement two years later. He was later the head coach of Ajax and the Netherlands national team.

Known for his close ball control, attacking intelligence, impeccable headers, and spectacular strikes and volleys, Van Basten was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992 and won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1988, 1989 and 1992. At club level, he won three Eredivisie titles and the Cup Winners' Cup with Ajax, and four Serie A titles and three European Cups with Milan. With the Netherlands, Van Basten won UEFA Euro 1988 where he earned the Golden Boot, scoring five goals, including a memorable volley in the final against the Soviet Union.

Lionel Messi is a football player from Argentina who plays for Inter Miami. He has won the Ballon D'Or, the annual award given to the best player in the world, 8 times, 2022 FIFA World Cup winner and an Olympic gold medal winner in 2008. He was born in 1987 in Rosario, Argentina's third-biggest city. He showed an enormous aptitude for football and was in the youth teams for Newell's Old Boys, his local team. Faced with mounting medical expenses to treat a growth hormone condition, Messi's family accepted an offer to move the 13-year-old prodigy to FC Barcelona, who would pay for his treatment. Messi has gone on to become one of the most decorated players in football history and has broken countless records for his club and his country.

Paolo Cesare Maldini Ufficiale is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and center back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders and players of all time. As the Milan and Italy captain for many years he was nicknamed "Il Capitano" ("The Captain"). Maldini held the record for most appearances in Serie A, with 647, until 2020, when he was overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon. He is also the player with the most appearances with the Milan shirt (902).

Hugo Sánchez is known for Algunas chicas doblan las piernas cuando hablan (2001).

Fernando Ruiz Hierro is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a center-back, sweeper or defensive midfielder.

He won five La Liga and three Champions League trophies with Real Madrid in 14 years after signing from Valladolid, during which he appeared in 601 official matches. He also competed professionally in Qatar and England.

Hierro represented Spain on nearly 90 occasions, appearing in four World Cups and two European Championships. He started working as a manager in 2016 with Oviedo, being appointed at the helm of the national team two years later.

He joined Real Madrid in season 1992/93 from the former Atlético Madrid lower teams. His promotion in the club has been unstoppable ever since he came in. After a brilliant performance in the reserve teams, he stepped up to make his debut in the first team when he was 17 under Jorge Valdano's coaching. He has been in the starting lineup ever since. After seven seasons in the elite of Spanish football, he has become a key piece both in Real Madrid and in the national team.

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo OIH (born 4 November 1972) is a retired Portuguese professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan before retiring on 31 May 2009. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a record at the time but later broken by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Renowned for his creativity and ability to get past defenders as a winger, Figo is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. His 106 assists are the second-most in La Liga history, behind Lionel Messi. He won the 2000 Ballon d'Or, 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 Pelé named him in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Figo is one of the few football players to have played for both Spanish rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. His controversial transfer in 2000 from Barcelona to bitter rivals Real Madrid set a world record fee of EUR62 million.

Figo had a successful career highlighted by several trophy wins, including the Portuguese Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, one UEFA Champions League title, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, four Serie A titles, one Italian Cup and three Italian Super Cups. On the international level, he scored 32 goals for Portugal, representing the nation at three European Championships and two World Cups, helping them reach the final but finish as runners-up at Euro 2004.

Harry Kewell was born on 22 September 1978 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is an actor, known for Liverpool FC vs Leicester City (2003), Liverpool FC vs Arsenal FC (2003) and Wigan Athletic vs Liverpool FC (2006). He has been married to Sheree Murphy since 25 May 2002. They have four children.

Emilio Butragueño was born on 22 July 1963 in Madrid, Spain. He is an actor, known for Hermida y Cía (1993), Deportes 13 (1962) and Johan Cruijff - En un momento dado (2004).

Johan Cruyff (or Cruijffie) is voted the best European soccer player of the twentieth century (and the second best worldplayer). He started his career with AJAX Amsterdam and led them to 4 European finals of which 3 were won (1971/1972/1973). In 1973 Cruyff joined Barcelona (for a the then record-fee of 6 million guilders), He became a very popular player

• also known as el salvador - and gave Barcelona (and Catalonia) their

pride back. One fan of the club was so pleased with Johan he gave him a bungalow in the mountains outside Barcelona. With the dutch national team he became the inventor of Total Football in 1974. The world finals were lost against the Germans, leaving the Netherlands with a lifelong trauma. After leaving Barcelona Johan played soccer in the States (Washington Diplomats) and then retired. Due to bad investments het was forced back to the pitch. He joined his first team on a highly profitable contract. In his first game against Harlem he scored a fantastic goal and thus silenced his critics. After two years with Ajax he then joined their great rivals, Feyenoord. Although he lost a game against Ajax 8-2, he made Feyenoord champion of Holland. He then retired as an active player.

After a few years he became involved again with his first love, Ajax. He coached them for a few years, winning the European cup winners cup, before he got fired after arguing with the president of the club. But he has not only a first love, but maybe he has an even greater second love, Barcelona. He coached them for a few years, winning the European Champions league for the first time and four times the Spanish league.

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima commonly known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian business owner, president of La Liga club Real Valladolid, owner of Brazilian club Cruzeiro FC and a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Popularly dubbed O Fenômeno ('The Phenomenon and also nicknamed R9, he is widely considered as one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been the influence for a generation of strikers that have followed. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning two Ballon d'Or awards. He won two FIFA World Cup.