The world of celebrities and football is often intertwined. After all, every world-class footballer is technically classed as a celebrity, alongside actors, TV chefs and any other person who gets recognised consistently while walking down the street. Celebrities often take to the football pitch in the name of charity throughout their careers, most notably in the annual Soccer Aid.
However, several celebrities could have switched careers entirely. They started their teenage years as part of football academies and some of them even had full aspirations to play for their country, yet it never quite worked out. Due to this, and while celebrities are actively involved in football today, here is a list of the 11 biggest celebrities who never quite became professional footballers.
Ranking Factors
- Fame as a celebrity
- How close they came to professional football
- Reasons for ending their football career
Ranking | Name | Teams (nearly) played for |
|---|---|---|
1. | Gordon Ramsay | Rangers |
2. | Sean Connery | East Fife |
3. | Matt Smith | Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City |
4. | Andy Murray | Rangers |
5. | Rod Stewart | Brentford |
6. | Odell Beckham Junior | N/A |
7. | Bradley Walsh | Brentford, Barnet |
8. | Pope Saint John Paul II | Wadowice |
9. | Olly Murs | Witham Town |
10. | Sir Ian Botham | Yeovil, Scunthorpe |
11. | Luciano Pavarotti | Modena |
11 Luciano Pavarotti
Modena
One of the most acclaimed operatic singers of all-time, Luciano Pavarotti could have seen his path go in a completely different way had things worked out differently. The singer had the dream of becoming a goalkeeper, and when he graduated from the Scuola Magistrale, he was interested in pursuing a career in professional football. However, his mother convinced him to become a teacher, and following two years in the role, he would embark on his music path.
A die-hard Juventus supporter, Pavarotti would play in goal in his home town of Modena, while he is perhaps best known by football fans for his rendition of Nessun Dorma with his Three Tenors group. The song was used by the BBC for the 1990 World Cup, and became hugely popular.
10 Sir Ian Botham
Yeovil, Scunthorpe
Firstly, many people know Sir Ian Botham because of his amazing cricket career. The former English cricketer is hailed by many as one of the finest all-rounders in the history of cricket. The cricketer played for teams such as Somerset, Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. However, before he turned to cricket, he was a talented footballer, playing for Yeovil Town and Scunthorpe United. He made 11 appearances for Scunthorpe in the Football League. Between the years of 1978 and 1985, he was a centre-back — and, although he only ever made one appearance for Yeovil, a potential football career wasn’t impossible.
9 Olly Murs
Witham Town
Manchester United fan Olly Murs dreamed of becoming a footballer, well before he got his big break on The X Factor. He played semi-professional football for Isthmian Division One North side Witham Town between 2006 and 2008, but he was affected by injury at a young age. Later in his career, he became co-owner of Essex side Coggeshall Town in 2017, until stepping down in 2022. The X-factor star first got involved with the Isthmian League North Division side in 2016 as a player before becoming a director.
“It’s great, I love being around all the boys, dressing room banter and the feel of watching football every Saturday. I love it. It’s kind of like a hobby. It gives me the chance to do something I love other than music,” he told the East Anglian Daily Times in 2022.
8 Pope Saint John Paul II
Wadowice
The late John Pope II is unsurprisingly remembered for being head of the Roman Catholic Church. However, what most people don’t know is that he was once a promising goalkeeper for the Polish side, Wadowice, and became known as “Lolek the Goalie.” Alongside this, The Pope had a lifelong Barcelona membership card, which he was given after performing mass at the Nou Camp stadium, in front of 120,000 people, in November 1982. But despite his affiliation with Barcelona, most people believe he only supported one team – Cracovia Cracow. He was born 30 miles from Krakow, undertook his university and seminary studies in the city and watched the team from the terraces in his youth. He never came close to turning professional, but that doesn’t stop him from being included here.
7 Bradley Walsh
Brentford, Barnet
Bradley Walsh is one of a select few ex-footballers who made the switch to TV presenting and is now known as the face of the popular UK gameshow The Chase on ITV. Before all of that, he had a promising football career as a youngster. He joined Brentford when he was young, yet he never played. However, he did play four times for Barnet in a loan spell in the 1979/1980 season. Despite this, injuries cut his career short as he suffered a nasty ankle fracture at the age of 2021. He has participated in Soccer Aid, a charity football match in which England takes on The Rest of the World. He helped England win the 2006 events as a player and the 2012 and 2016 events as a coach.
6 Odell Beckham Junior
N/A
Odell Beckham Junior was born in 1992 — and he could have easily become a professional footballer, or soccer as Americans would say it. At school, he was considered the most well-rounded athlete in his year. He was capable of playing both types of football, but he didn’t wish to leave the country and his family in an attempt to succeed in Europe. Due to this, he ended up playing American Football, where he became one of the best players in the sport. Beckham was technically never given a trial by a club, but it was clear he had the potential to receive one.
5 Rod Stewart
Brentford
Rod Stewart is widely considered one of the greatest singers in history, but he could have had a very different path if he had been slightly better at football. Stewart’s initial passion was football, just like his father who encouraged him to try for professional football after leaving school. He went on trials at Brentford in 1960, but he was not successful. The singer also played as a central defender for Middlesex Schoolboys in his youth, but that experience – and time – wasn’t enough to see him fulfill his dream at Brentford. What a career it could have been for Stewart.
4 Andy Murray
Rangers
When you think of legendary British athletes, the name ‘Andy Murray’ always pops into your head. He has made history several times throughout his career, most notably becoming the first British player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry. However, at a young age, he had a passion for football and he had the opportunity to potentially turn professional. Murray was invited by Rangers to train with the youth team but he declined and committed himself to tennis. It was a risky decision at a young age, particularly when Rangers are one of Scotland’s biggest clubs, but it paid off for him.
3 Matt Smith
Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City
Matt Smith is one of the UK’s best actors, most famous for his spell as The Doctor in Doctor Who. Despite his fame and fortune now, Smith’s career could have been entirely different. He was on the verge of becoming a professional footballer for several clubs, following in his grandfather’s footsteps who played for Notts County in England. He played for clubs such as Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, yet he never broke into the first-team spotlight. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury that resulted in spondylolysis which resulted in an untimely end to his football career, aged only 16.
2 Sean Connery
East Fife
Sean Connery was most famous for his spell as James Bond in the 20th century. He captivated audiences, even winning an Oscar in 1988 for his role in ‘The Untouchables’. However, he could have had a very different career as a footballer. As a youngster, Connery was an impressive footballer. His football skills even earned him a trial with the East Fife club. Whilst, surprisingly, Man United manager Matt Busby offered him a contract. It would have seen him play for one of the best teams in the world, yet Connery turned it down to pursue his acting passion. Later on in his life, Connery said via the Sun:
“I really wanted to accept because I loved football, but I realised that a top-class footballer could be over the hill by the age of 30, and I was already 23.”
1 Gordon Ramsay
Rangers
Last, but not least, we’ll let you decide if Gordon Ramsay is the world’s angriest chef, but he is one of the contenders. The TV chef has made audiences laugh and cry for years due to his infectious personality, yet imagine if he was a footballer instead. As a youngster, he was invited to play for his boyhood club Rangers in 1984. Unfortunately, he suffered cruciate ligament and knee cartilage problems which ended his dream of becoming a professional footballer before it even started. Ramsay was eventually released by Rangers which allowed him to start his career as a chef, while also having a go at wrestling in the process.