Footballers who played other sports

Sports stars are often talented in more than one discipline.

Tennis player Jannik Sinner was a champion skier as a junior, Michael Jordan tried his hand at baseball and Usain Bolt turned to football after his athletics career.

Plenty of footballers have had a go at other sports, too – sometimes before choosing to focus on the beautiful game, on other occasions after their retirement and sometimes even at the same time.

Here, a look at some high-profile examples of footballers who have played other sports...

33. Josh Lambo

Josh Lambo began his career as a goalkeeper and represented MLS sides FC Dallas and Tampa Bay. He also played for the United States at Under-17 and U-20 level.

Later, he became a placekicker in the NFL and spent eight seasons in the league with the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. He retired from professional sports in 2023.

32. Carlos Lampe

A Bolivian international since 2010, goalkeeper Carlos Lampe has played for a string of clubs in his homeland and won the league title with Always Ready in 2020.

In addition to his talents on the football field, Lampe has played basketball for Real Santa Cruz and featured in the Liga Sudamericana de Basquetbol.

31. Florentin Petre

Florentin Petre spent much of his football career at Dinamo Bucharest as a right winger and won 54 caps for Romania, scoring six goals.

Also passionate about motor sport, Petre went on to become rally champion of Bulgaria in 2010 and came third in Romania's rally championship in 2012.

30. Tony Meola

Tony Meola won 100 caps for the Unites States and was in goal for the USMNT at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.

Meola intended to become a placekicker in the NFL after that, but didn't pass the try-outs and was cut. He also played basketball and baseball and was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees, but declined the contract.

29. Andy Goram

Andy Goram won five Scottish Premier League titles at Rangers, played 43 times for Scotland and also had a short spell on loan at Manchester United.

Best known for his career as a goalkeeper, Goram also played cricket. A right-arm medium-pace bowler, he represented Scotland between 1989 and 1991.

28. Can Bartu

Can Bartu was an attacking midfielder who played for Fenerbahce, Fiorentina, Lazio and Venezia in the 1950s and 1960s. He also won 26 caps for Turkey.

Bartu, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 83, also played basketball at the beginning of his career and represented Turkey on six occasions in the sport.

27. Leon McKenzie

Leon McKenzie came through the youth system at Crystal Palace and went on to play for the south London club for five years. Later, the forward had spells at a number of other sides, including Peterborough, Norwich and Coventry.

McKenzie retired in 2013 to become a professional boxer and in 2016, he fought for the English super-middleweight title. After losing that fight, he was beaten again in his next bout and hung up his gloves in 2017.

26. Grant Holt

A journeyman striker who played in all four divisions of English football, plus non-league and in Scotland, Grant Holt is best remembered for his time at Norwich City.

Holt scored 78 goals in 168 games for Norwich between 2009 and 2013 and played on until 2022. After his retirement, he became a professional wrestler, signing up with the World Association of Wrestling.

25. Taylor Twellman

Taylor Twellman won 30 caps for the United States between 2002 and 2008, scoring six goals, and ultimately retired in 2010 due to a head injury.

As a promising young player, he was also a talented American footballer and was offered a contract by the Kansas City Royals. He turned it down in favour of a soccer scholarship from the University of Maryland.

24. Jerzy Dudek

Jerzy Dudek will forever be remembered by Liverpool fans for his heroics in Istanbul as the Reds came from three goals down to beat AC Milan on penalties and win the Champions League in 2005.

The former Poland goalkeeper retired in 2011 after a spell at Real Madrid and took up motor racing. In 2014, he completed a full season in the Volkswagen Castrol Cup, a racing championship held at circuits around Eastern Europe in the summer months.

23. Rio Ferdinand

One of England's great central defenders, Rio Ferdinand played 81 times for the Three Lions and won it all in a 12-year stay at Manchester United.

Two years after his retirement, Ferdinand announced in a press conference that he intended to become a professional boxer. However, he was refused a licence by the British Boxing Board of Control on the grounds that he had never fought before and decided to hang up his gloves.

22. Geoff Hurst

Geoff Hurst is best remembered for scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final as England beat West Germany at Wembley in 1966.

Less known is that the former West Ham striker was also a talented cricketer. An outstanding fielder, Hurst was an occasional wicket-keeper and played one County Championship game for Essex in 1962 before focusing on football.

21. Luis Enrique

One of the best midfielders of his generation, Luis Enrique played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona and won 62 caps for Spain. Later, he became a successful coach.

After retiring from football, he lived in Australia to practice surfing and went on to run a number of marathons. He also took part in an Ironman event in Germany in 2007.

20. Andriy Shevchenko

Andriy Shevchenko is considered one of the greatest strikers of all time and Ukraine's best ever player. He won 111 caps for his country, scoring 48 times.

The legendary former Dynamo Kyiv and AC Milan forward is also a handy golfer. After appearing in Pro-Am events, he took part in his first professional golf tournament, the Kharkov Superior Cup, in 2013.

19. Rafael van de Vaart

Rafael van de Vaart played successfully for Ajax, Hamburg, Real Madrid and Tottenham among others and won over 100 caps for the Netherlands.

After his retirement from football, the attacking midfielder began a professional darts career and made his debut at the Denmark Open, where he won in the first round but lost his next match.

18. Lev Yashin

Lev Yashin is considered one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, if not the best of them all, but also played as goalie for Dynamo Moscow's ice hockey team early on, winning a USSR ice hockey cup in 1953.

"I ran, did the high jump, shot put, discus, took fencing lessons, had a go at boxing, diving, wrestling, skating, tried basketball, played ice hockey, water polo and football. I spent my winters on skis and skates. I'm not sure what I was best at," he once said.

17. Kevin Moran

Kevin Moran won the FA Cup twice with Manchester United in the 1980s and the centre-back played 71 times for the Republic of Ireland.

At the beginning of his football career, Moran was also successful at Gaelic Football, winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship twice. He was also part of the side which won the National Football League for Dublin in 1976/77 but had to focus on football after his move to Old Trafford in 1978. Released by United for the 1978 All-Ireland semi-final and final, Moran got injured and was not allowed to play Gaelic Football again.

16. Santiago Cañizares

One of the best goalkeepers of his generation, Santiago Cañizares started his career at Real Madrid and became a legend at Valencia. He also won 46 caps for Spain.

After retiring from football, he started a career in rallying, eventually earning his first victory by winning the Rally de la Cerámica with a Porsche 997 in 2017. Later that year, he was crowned champion of the Valencian Community.

15. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain racked up over 100 Premier League appearances for both Arsenal and Liverpool and won 35 caps for England between 2012 and 2019.

But the midfielder almost chose rugby over football. A talented scrum half or full back, he was offered a trial by London Irish. He was also a promising cricketer and was offered trials as a wicketkeeper batsman by Hampshire but chose to focus on his football.

14. Ivan Perisic

Ivan Perisic played in a World Cup final for Croatia and has turned out for some of Europe's top teams – including Inter, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham.

The winger, who has more than 100 caps for Croatia, tried his hand at beach volleyball in 2017. Perisic played in the Beach Volleyball World Tour event at the Porec Major tournament, a professional competition, partnering Niksa Dellorco. The pair lost their first match to Brazilians Alvaro Morais Filho and Saymon Barbosa.

13. Rodrigo Palacio

Rodrigo Palacio played as a forward for Boca Juniors, Inter, Genoa and Bologna, among others, and won 27 caps for Argentina.

Often remembered for his missed chance in the 2014 World Cup final defeat to Germany, Palacio retired from football in 2022 at the age of 40 and started playing basketball for Italian lower-league team Polisportiva Garegnano 1976.

12. Henrik Larsson

One of the greatest players in Celtic history and an icon at Barcelona, Henrik Larsson scored over 300 goals in his club career and was on target 37 times in 106 appearances for Sweden.

Towards the end of his career, the striker returned to floorball (a type of floor hockey), which he had played competitively back in 1989. Playing for Super League side Helsingborg, he got two assists and was voted Man of the Match in his second match.

11. Tim Wiese

Tim Wiese won six caps for Germany between 2008 and 2012 during a long and successful spell as goalkeeper at Werder Bremen.

After his contract with Hoffenheim was terminated in 2014, Wiese took up wrestling and made his WWE debut in Munich in 2016. He left the sport the following year.

10. Bruce Arena

Bruce Arena is best known for his time as coach of the United States, but the former goalkeeper also won one cap for the USMNT in his playing days.

Talented at several sports, Arena later played professional lacrosse for the Montreal Quebecois in 1975 but returned to football after the National Lacrosse League folded at the end of the season.

9. Clive Allen

Clive Allen scored almost 200 goals in a successful career which saw him represent the likes of Tottenham, QPR, Manchester City and Bordeaux. He also won five caps for England.

After his retirement, Allen signed for the London Monarchs as a specialist goal kicker and even featured during the NFL Europe season in 1997.

8. Knut Anders Fostervold

Knut Anders Fostervold played 172 matches as a centre-back for Molde and represented the Norwegian club in the Champions League.

After his career was cut short by injury in 2003, he became a cyclist. Fostervold won a bronze medal in the Norwegian national time-trial championships in 2005 and took part in the world championships the following year.

7. Curtis Woodhouse

Curtis Woodhouse made almost 400 appearances as a central defender in his football career and even played briefly in the Premier League with Birmingham City. He also represented England at Under-21 level.

Woodhouse later became a professional boxer and was successful, winning 24 of his 31 fights. He is a former British light-welterweight champion.

6. Bixente Lizarazu

A World Cup winner in 1998 and European champion two years later with France, Bixente Lizarazu won 97 caps for Les Bleus and won the Champions League at Bayern Munich in a successful career.

The left-back hung up his boots in 2006, but sport remains a huge part of his life. A keen surfer and cyclist, Lizarazu also enjoys hydrofoiling and in 2009, he became a European champion in the self-defence martial art jiu-jitsu.

5. Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Batistuta is one of Argentina's greatest-ever players and was the team's all-time top scorer until he was overtaken by Lionel Messi.

After his retirement, Batistuta suffered severe pain in his ankles due to his exertions on the football field, but he played polo and even won the prestigious Copa Stella Artois in 2009.

4. Christian Vieri

Christian Vieri became one of the best strikers in the world, but the Australia-born forward was more passionate about cricket than football.

Vieri once said he would give up football to play cricket if he could, claimed he would have been the best batsman in the world and once told bemused journalists at a press conference that his biggest sporting idol had been former Australia captain Allan Border.

3. Petr Cech

Petr Cech grew up playing ice hockey and after retiring from football in 2019, the former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper signed for the Guildford Phoenix.

Playing as a goaltender, the Czech won Man of the Match on his debut as he saved two penalties in a shootout victory. He went on to represent a number of other teams and in 2023 helped raise £65,000 for the continuation of ice hockey in Ukraine in a charity match with Belfast Giants.

2. Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini is one of the greatest defenders in the history of football and it turns out he is a decent tennis player too.

The Italian qualified for an ATP Challenger event in doubles alongside his coach Stefano Landonio in 2017. Landonio claimed Maldini had "no weaknesses", but the pair were beaten 6-1, 6-1 in 42 minutes.

1. Gareth Bale

"Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order." The flag raised by Wales players after they secured qualification for Euro 2020 infuriated Real Madrid fans.

It may have been a joke, but there was an element of truth in it too. Bale loves golf, has played a few tournaments since his retirement from football and earned praise from Rory McIlroy in a Pro-Am event in September 2023.