Are they Footballers or stars?
I remember growing up as a little boy playing football, it’s always what I wanted to do, and it’s what I always wanted to be. This was just because I loved playing the game so much.
I’m sure so many of you out there wanted to do the same, and where did we end up? In regular jobs. Mainly because we didn’t make the grade, but hey, who care’s we enjoyed it, and we still enjoy it. Whether it’s watching, playing or even just talking about it. Football was, and in most cases is still, a huge part of our lives.
The future football prospects are being plucked from the local leagues and joining up with bigger academies every weekend. This is happening at an increasing young age. Not too far in to the future I can see humans being genetically modified to become super footballers (sorry, will be another blog of mine).
Anyway, do footballers still share the same love for football now it is their career? I suspect they do, but it isn’t always obvious.
As football receives so much global media coverage are footballers becoming more and more celebrity? Are footballers losing sight of what drives them? Do they seem to enjoy the spotlight off the pitch more than when the focus is on them, on the pitch?
We all know about David Beckham, made famous by football, but enjoying unrivalled off the pitch success, as part of the ‘Beckham brand’. Let’s face it, his best playing days are behind him now, but he still picks up a huge pay packet every month.
But who else is like this? We only know about the great success of David Beckham mainly because he’s British. Is Fabregas the equivalent in Spain, Ronaldo in Portugal, or even Jason Roberts (Blackburn) in Grenada?
A good example of this would be Wayne Rooney, more celebrity now than footballer, well based on the last couple of seasons for Man Utd, but also his England performances in the last couple of years.
Can you think of any footballers whose celebrity status outweighs their footballing credentials?
