You might love or hate Diego Maradona, but there’s one thing we can always credit him for: You do not get bored with him around. Ever. Therefore, if you didn’t find his arrival to Dorados exciting enough, here he comes again with another wave of entertainment.
Amazon Prime Video revealed the first images of its new TV series project, Maradona, based on Diego’s eternal soccer legacy and pretty stormy private life.
The first African player to win the Ballon d’or. A successful run for the Liberian presidential candidacy. George Weah has shown time after time that he can do it all.
The Liberian legend proved yet again that he is no ordinary man when he featured for his home country in a friendly against Nigeria on Tuesday at the ripe old age of 51. Weah played a respectable 79 minutes in his side’s 2-1 loss and was honored after the game in a ceremony to retire his No. 14 jersey. He scored 22 goals in 60 appearances during his international career.
If you’re curious to check out the most famous football players with photos and visceral evidence of their existence, you’ve come to the right place. In the latest edition of the ESPN World Fame 100, 32 of the entries were footballers, giving you a fitting idea of the sport’s global appeal. We’ve included all 32 of those players and some other footballers that are instantly recognizable to followers of the game.
Take a look below, and get inspired to run more.
Edinson Cavani | PSG & Uruguay
LA Galaxy drew LAFC 1-1 in El Trafico where the almighty Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored goal No. 499 on Saturday. Now, Zlatan is one goal away from the 500 mark. Can the unstoppable Swede hit the 500th against Real Salt Lake on Saturday?
With Ola Kamara’s cross aimed right at Zlatan, the former Red Devil punted it from the right of the box. The clarity of the goal was in question, but luckily, at least this one time, VAR was there for the rescue.
Jibril Rajoub, the president of the Palestine FA, was banned from all soccer activities for the next year by FIFA on Friday, a ruling stemming from words targeting Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Rajoub had called on fans to burn jerseys and pictures of Messi ahead of a friendly between Argentina and Israel in Jerusalem this summer, saying one of the world’s biggest stars should not “whitewash the face of racism” by attending the match.
San Jose Earthquakes central defender Guram Kashia was honored with the inaugural UEFA #EqualGame Award on Wednesday for his public stand for the LGBTQ community while with Dutch club SBV Vitesse last season.
Kashia, 31, wore a rainbow captain’s armband with Vitesse along with other captains in the Dutch top division. Unlike most of his fellow captains, Kashia faced harsh criticism, threats and abuse back home in his native Georgia. Nonetheless, he took a stand for equality, despite calls for him to step down from the national team.
The football world was stunned and heartbroken last summer when promising Dutch midfielder Abdelhak “Appie” Nouri collapsed on the pitch during a preseason game for Ajax against Werder Bremen.
The exciting energy and good spirits that come with opening day of the season were soured by a group of Lazio fans on Saturday. Before the Serie A opener, a group of Lazio loyals distributed flyers to those on their way into the Stadio Olimpico telling female fans to steer clear of their “sacred space” within the stadium known as the Curva Nord.
Fox will make history on Sunday. An all-female cast of three announcers will lead the broadcast in a top U.S. men’s sports league for the first time ever, according to FOX Sports.
Lisa Byington (play-by-play), Danielle Slaton (analyst) and Katie Witham (reporter/host) will join together to call the DC United vs. New England Revolution match on Sunday evening. The nationally televised game will air live on FS1 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The cost of watching soccer in the U.S. keeps rising. ESPN announced it would make ESPN+ the exclusive home of the FA Cup in the U.S. on Wednesday, adding to the growing list of soccer subscription services fans must pay for in order to watch soccer, most of which used to come with a basic cable subscription.