Top 10 Celebs Who Could Have Played Pro Football
These famous faces are better known for their singing, acting and cheffing than their skills on the pitch, but that wasn't always the case. We've put together ten celebs that could have been professional footballers if fate had taken a different turn:
1. Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart was captain of his school football team in Middlesex, and after leaving school when he was 15 he went on to pursue a career as a professional footballer. He ended up with a football apprenticeship at Brentford Football Club in his late teens before he quit to pursue his passion for music. We can be certain he chose the right path; going on to have 62 UK hit singles!
2. Olly Murs
Murs also enjoyed playing football in his younger years, and played striker in his school's team in Braintree, Essex. When he was 22 he played semi-professionally for the North Division of the Isthmian league for a few years, where in one season he scored 12 goals. The following season he was forced to give up on his professional football career due to injury. Luckily for Olly, his 2008 audition for the X Factor proved successful and he now enjoys a blossoming career as a singer and presenter.
3. Louis Tomlinson
The One Direction heartthrob has been a football fan since he was a boy and used to play with his local pub team in Doncaster. In 2013 it was agreed that he would play as a reserve for Donaster Rovers after impressing them in a charity game for the Bluebell Wood Charity.
4. Sean Connery
The 007 actor was once offered a trial with semi-professional football club East Fife in Scotland. When he was 23 he was also offered a £25 a week contract by the then Manchester United manager Matt Busby, which he turned down to pursue his acting career.
5. Gordon Ramsay
Warwickshire football club chose Ramsay for their under-14s team when he was just 12. However, when he was 18 he badly injured the cartilage in his knee during a trial for the Rangers. If that hadn't happened he might have never become the celebrity chef we know today.
6. Julio Iglesias
The Spanish singer used to be a goalkeeper for Real Madrid Castilla's youth system. His football career never went further than that however, as he suffered from serious injuries due to a car accident when he was a young adult. Iglesias then went on to have a very successful career as a singer, selling more than 350 million records worldwide.
7. Sam Trickett
Trickett used to play with Nottingham Forrest and was scouted by Sheffield United and Hucknall Town before snapping his cruciate ligaments and pursuing professional poker. He is currently ranked number 1 in the England all-time money list and is in the top 10 live tournament earners of all time.
8. Robbie Williams
Williams has supported his local team Port Vale in Stoke-On-Trent since he was young and briefly played for them. As we all know, he went on to become one of the UK's most successful male solo artists of all time.
9. Steve Nash
Former Canadian professional basketball player Steve Nash apparently hasn't played basketball since he retired in 2015, however he plays football fairly regularly and has trained a few times with the Spurs. This love for football probably stems from his father, as he used to play professionally all over the world.
10. Chad Ochocino
Former American football player Chad Ochocino also has an interest in football or 'soccer'; in 2016 he was signed to the Mexican football team Club León.