Top 10 Celebrities Who Could Have Played Football Professionally

When you are young you either dream of being a footballer or a rockstar and for some people they’ll be lucky enough to live out that dream by having one of these jobs as a career. However some people are fortunate enough to perhaps be both. Here are 10 celebrities who could have played professionally.

image courtesy of @socceraid

 

Mark Owen

 

Take That singer Mark Owen didn’t have an interest in singing until after his school days. When he was a youngster he had a dream of becoming a pro footballer, and it could have come true as he had trials with football clubs such as Manchester United. However, it was never meant to be, but Owen is still passionate about the sport as he participated in the 2012 and 2014 Soccer Aid.

 

 

Matt Smith

 

The 11^th Doctor not only has a talent for acting, but also football. Before setting his heart on drama, Matt was planning on becoming a pro footballer. He even played for several youth teams including Nottingham Forest. The only reason he went on to acting was because he was forced to give up his football dream when he was 16 after a back injury that meant he couldn’t play anymore. He is certainly doing well for himself despite this, since Doctor Who he has starred in Netflix series The Crown and the musical American Psycho.

 

Rod Stewart

 

Legend Rod Stewart has been a Celtic’s fan for years, regularly going to games and even passing on his love for the sport to his children. However, you may not know that Stewart used to pursue a professional football career many years ago. He used to be his school’s football team captain, and went on to train with Brentford Football Club. Stewart changed the direction of his career in his late teens, choosing to pursue a career in music instead.

 

Boris Becker

 

Becker is known as one of the world’s most successful tennis players in history, but what many don’t know is that he showed promise in both tennis and football when he was younger. German football club Bayern Munich even recognised this and offered him a training opportunity when he was 12. However, he turned it down to focus on his tennis. Since his retirement from professional tennis in 1999 he has moved on to other passions such as poker, going on to becoming an ambassador for the online card room partypoker.

 

Steve Waugh

 

Former Australian Test cricket captain Steve Waugh is known for his impressive batting technique. In his younger days he was just as passionate about football as well as cricket and was offered a space with Sydney Croatia, but apparently decided against it as cricket offered more opportunities to advance professionally at that time.

 

 

Johnny Marr

 

The English rocker played for several youth clubs growing up and had trials with both Manchester City and Nottingham Forest. Luckily for fans of The Smiths, neither trial were successful and Marr went on to become one of the most talented guitarists of his day, and was even voted the 4^th best guitarist of the last 30 years by a BBC poll.

 

Ricky Hatton

 

Former pro boxer Ricky Hatton was influenced by his grandfather and father when he was young as they had both played for their local football team Rochdale. Hatton could have gone down that road but as we know he chose to seek a career in boxing instead. Since retiring in 2009 he has set up a boxing promotion company with Richard Poxon.

 

David Frost

 

Back in his school days Sir David Frost was a goalkeeper for his school team and was even scouted out by Nottingham Forest who watched one of his games. However, Frost decided that it wasn’t for him. Instead he chose to learn more about English, he worked on his debating skills and went to the University of Cambridge. He rose to fame after hosting the TV show ‘That Was the Week That Was ‘ which led to many other hosting opportunities.

 

Bob Marley

 

Marley will never be forgotten as a one of the most iconic musicians in history, but what most don’t know is that he had another passion – football.  He was known to play football regularly on tour with the Wailers or at home. Marley never pursued a professional career in the sport; it was just a way to have fun.

 

Andy Murray

 

Two-time Wimbledon winner Andy Murray could have gone down a completely different path. His grandfather was a professional footballer in his day, which certainly influenced Andy to support Hiberian Football Club, a team that his grandfather used to play for. Similar to Boris Becker, Andy was offered a chance to train with a Football Club (the Rangers) at a young age – which we know he turned down to concentrate on his career in tennis. There’s no doubt he made the right decision.