Curated playlist
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- Michael OwenBefore he turned twelve, footballer Michael Owen had broken Ian Rush's goalscoring record.
- Lionel MessiLionel Messi's first Barcelona contract was written on a paper napkin. He was 13 at the time.
- Sándor KocsisSándor Kocsis scored 11 goals at the 1954 World Cup but missed in the final. Hungary lost 3-2 to West Germany.
- Didier DeschampsDidier Deschamps is one of only three men to win the World Cup as both player and manager.
- Luka ModrićLuka Modrić grew up in a hotel car park after his grandfather was killed. He later won the 2018 Ballon d'Or.
- Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)Hours before the 1998 World Cup final, Ronaldo suffered a convulsive fit. He was dropped, then reinstated.
- Thibaut CourtoisThibaut Courtois began as a left back before coaches turned him into a goalkeeper.
- Davor ŠukerDavor Šuker won the 1998 World Cup Golden Boot in Croatia's first World Cup. He scored six goals in seven matches.
- Nicolás OtamendiNicolás Otamendi played every minute of Argentina's 2022 World Cup campaign. He also gave away France's opening penalty.
- Tarek SalmanTarek Salman began as a striker and became a center-back. Qatar's Aspire Academy retrained him as a defender.
- NeymarOn the 3rd of August 2017, Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain in a transfer worth 222 million euros, the most expensive in football history. Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior was born on the 5th of February 1992, and the world knows him by one…
- Thierry HenryThierry Henry was thirteen years old in 1990 when a Monaco scout named Arnold Catalano went to watch him play. Henry's team won 6-0, and Henry scored every one of the six goals. Catalano did not ask for a trial. He asked the boy to join…
- Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo's mother wanted to abort him, but her doctor refused. He became football's top goalscorer.
- Kylian MbappéKylian Mbappé's famous arms-folded celebration was invented by his little brother.
- Andrés GuardadoAndrés Guardado retired with 180 games for Mexico, more than any player in its history.
- RonaldinhoRonaldinho scored his first La Liga goal for Barcelona at 1.30 in the morning on the 3rd of September 2003. The match against Sevilla had kicked off at five minutes past midnight. He took a pass from his own goalkeeper inside his own half,…
- Diego MaradonaDiego Maradona punched in one World Cup goal, then dribbled past five English players for another.
- Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Zidane scored two headers from corners in the 1998 World Cup Final. France beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris.
- Gary LinekerGary Lineker played 654 competitive games and never got a yellow or red card.
- Emiliano MartínezEmiliano Martínez tossed the ball away before a World Cup final shootout. He made France's Tchouaméni walk to fetch it.
- Marc OvermarsMarc Overmars once pulled potatoes from the ground by running with a rope tied around his waist.
- David BeckhamSir David Beckham became something of a household name on the 17th of August 1996, the opening day of the Premier League season, with a single shot from 57 yards. Manchester United were already 2-0 up against Wimbledon when Beckham noticed…
- Luis SuárezLuis Suárez, the Uruguayan striker born on the 24th of January 1987, was sent off at the 2010 World Cup and still found a way to watch the penalty that followed. Late in extra time against Ghana, he had used his hands to stop a header that…
- RomárioRomário told reporters he would finish Uruguay, then scored both goals in a 2-0 win.
- Diego ForlánDiego Forlán was 45 years old when he received a wildcard into the main doubles draw of the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo. It was his first professional ATP tournament. The man walking onto the court had spent two decades as one of the…
- James RodríguezJames Rodríguez chested down a high ball and volleyed it in at the 2014 World Cup. It won the FIFA Puskás Award.
- Vinícius JúniorVinícius Júnior scored the only goal of the Champions League final on the 28th of May 2022. Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0, and the club collected a record 14th European title. The scorer was a Brazilian forward born on the 12th of July…
- Hristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov led an underdog Bulgaria past defending champions Germany at the 1994 World Cup.
- Oleg SalenkoOleg Salenko scored five goals in one World Cup match, at Stanford Stadium in the United States on the 28th of June 1994. No player before him had done it in the finals. Russia beat Cameroon 6-1 that day. Yet Salenko played only three…
- Rafael MárquezRafael Márquez is the only defender to captain a team at five World Cups. The Mexican played in 2002 through 2018.
- Robert ProsinečkiRobert Prosinečki is the only player to score World Cup goals for two national teams.
- VaváVavá scored in two World Cup finals in a row, and no one else did it for sixty years.
- Antoine GriezmannAntoine Griezmann was born on the 21st of March 1991 in Mâcon, a commune in the department of Saône-et-Loire. As a child he supported Lyon, and he went on several trials hoping to join one of its youth academies. Lyon turned him away. So…
- Robert LewandowskiRobert Lewandowski walked on as a Bayern Munich substitute on the 22nd of September 2015, with his team trailing Wolfsburg 1-0. Eight minutes and 59 seconds later, he had scored five goals and Bayern led 5-1. Three of those goals fell…
- Zlatan IbrahimovićIn March 2018, the Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović paid for a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times. It carried his signature and a single short message: 'Dear Los Angeles, you're welcome.' He had just signed for LA Galaxy,…
- Marcus RashfordMarcus Rashford got his chance at Manchester United because somebody else got hurt. On the 25th of February 2016, thirteen United players were out injured. Then Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up for a Europa League tie against the…
- Karim BenzemaKarim Benzema was born in Lyon on the 19th of December 1987, to parents of Algerian and Kabyle descent. Years later he stood in front of the first-team squad of his hometown club, still a teenager. The room included Michael Essien, Sylvain…