Famous players who don’t love football | OneFootball

To become a professional footballer, is it important to genuinely love football? You’d imagine that in order to reach the top, players need to be enamoured with the sport to a certain extent.

However, there are some professionals who, for one reason or another, aren’t anywhere near as obsessed with the beautiful game compared to the vast majority of their peers. This might be difficult for many fans to get their heads around. After all, how can someone who doesn’t live and breathe football end up reaching the top?

Well, it turns out there are more than a fair few examples of footballers who simply just see the game as a job. With that being the case, GIVEMESPORT has taken a look at 13 players who don't care about football.

Arsenal’s Ben White is one of the best current examples of a top-level footballer who, it's fair to say, doesn't love football. In an interview with Sky Sports in October 2021, the £50 million centre-back admitted that he didn’t grow up watching football and, as a result, wasn’t even aware of what type of player Patrick Vieira was.

White, who currently wears Vieira’s old No. 4 shirt at the Emirates Stadium, confessed: “No I never watched football when I was younger, still don't now. I just loved the game, I was always playing it - never watching it. So I don't know too much about older generations.“I know [Vieira] was a very good player. But I wouldn't know the details. I'm quite busy, I'm always doing something. I watch myself for analytical reasons. I watch England, maybe. I just wouldn't just sit down and watch a game.”

12 Ronaldinho

This one will come as a big surprise to most. Ronaldinho is arguably the most skilful footballer of all time, but he can’t be dealing with watching a full 90-minute match on TV. In January 2018, the Brazilian legend was quoted by The Sun as saying:

11 Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Batistuta, one of the greatest strikers of the 1990s, saw football as a job and little more. “I do not like football, it is just my profession,” the retired centre-forward once told a TV show in his native Argentina. The co-writer of his autobiography, Alessandro Rialti, confirmed this was true in a 1999 interview with the Sunday Times, per Eurosport:

10 Dani Alves

Dani Alves, the second-most decorated footballer in history, returned to Barcelona at the age of 38 and became the squad’s lowest earner. You simply don't do that unless you have a certain type of love for the game. However, the Brazilian full-back once insisted that he has no intention of remaining involved in the sport after retiring, telling O'Globo, per Goal:

9 Gareth Bale

It became a long-running joke that Gareth Bale would much rather be on a golf course than a football pitch, but there was probably an element of truth to it. Don't forget, the Welshman announced his retirement in January 2023, aged just 33. When asked about Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in January 2018, he told ESPN:

8 Carlos Tevez

Another (relatively) recently-retired pro who can fully emphasise with Bale and others on this list is Carlos Tevez. Speaking in October 2018, the Argentine forward admitted he can’t stand watching games on TV. During an interview with Clarin, per Marca, he said:

7 Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Few professionals would openly admit that they’re in football purely for the money, but former Tottenham and Cameroon star Benoit Assou-Ekotto is one of them. The retired left-back told The Guardian in 2010. “A career is only 10, 15 years. It's only a job. Yes, it's a good, good job and I don't say that I hate football but it's not my passion." Peter Crouch best summed up Assou-Ekotto's indifference to the game on his podcast, saying:

6 David Bentley

Assou-Ekotto’s former Spurs teammate David Bentley called time on his career in 2014, aged just 29, after his childhood love for the game was eroded away over the course of his professional career. The former England international, who went on to open up a restaurant in Marbella after hanging up his boots, admitted to The Mirror:

5 Bobby Zamora

Another former Tottenham player who wasn’t - and presumably still isn’t - in love with football is Bobby Zamora. Capped twice by England at his peak, the retired centre-forward told The Daily Mail in 2012:

4 David Batty

Where on earth is David Batty, the former Leeds United and England midfielder, these days? Most of his former teammates don’t even know. Rio Ferdinand, for example, tweeted in November 2021: “Just sitting here thinking ahead of the England game….David Batty….what’s he up to now, anyone seen him? Great guy, top player…just disappeared though!” Well, perhaps he shuns the limelight because he doesn't care for the sport. Batty told The Guardian in 2007:

And was he that bothered after missing the decisive penalty for England against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup? You can probably guess the answer:

3 Espen Baardsen

Espen Baardsen, a USA-born Norway international, played in England with Tottenham, Watford and Everton in the late-1990s and early-2000s. The former goalkeeper decided to retire aged just 25 after losing interest in the sport. He told The Guardian in May 2008:

2 Stephen Ireland

Remember Stephen Ireland? The former Republic of Ireland enjoyed a couple of excellent seasons with Manchester City and also went on to play for Aston Villa, Newcastle United (loan) and Stoke City.

The retired midfielder, who once admitted lying that his grandmother had died in order to excuse himself from international duty, posted on a social media website in 2007: ”Football Is S**T Why Did I get Stuck Doin It."

1 Marc-Andre ter Stegen

One of the world’s best goalkeepers, Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen confessed in March 2020 that his football knowledge is awful. Indeed, the German international was quoted by The Daily Mail telling El Pais: