They may look like each other, but that's where the similarities end
Remember when Eto'o and Drogba played together at Metalurg Donetsk in the mid-2000s? No? Not surprising really – we’re not talking about Samuel and Didier but David and Joel. Or when Aubameyang won the Champions League in 2003 with Milan? Of course you don’t. Catilina Aubameyang won Europe’s top prize, not his world-famous little brother Pierre-Emerick.
The world of football can be a strange one, particularly when it comes to lesser-known siblings. We've taken a look at 12 brothers of footballing superstars who never quite came up to the high standards their siblings set.
1. Federico Higuain
Federico may not have hit the same footballing heights as his little brother Gonzalo, but he’s managed to forge a pretty decent career for himself nonetheless. He moved to Europe with Istanbul giants Besiktas in 2006 but struggled for form in his one and only season in Turkey. After a solid spell back in Argentina, the older brother headed Stateside with Columbus Crew, where the diminutive playmaker has averaged close to a goal every three games and was a runner-up in the 2015 MLS Cup.
A solid career, then, but unlike his superstar sibling at Juventus, Federico is unlikely to attract a bid of £90m for his services. But as he told FIFA.com in 2013: “Honestly, it doesn’t bother me that people want to talk about Gonzalo all the time. I don’t feel any bitterness."
2. Mathias Pogba
The other Pogba boys were born in the Guinean capital Conakry before the family moved to France when twins Mathias and Florentin were eight months old. (A couple of years later, along came little Paul; he's still shorter than his older brothers.) Both international footballers with the country of their birth, Mathias gets the nod over Florentin thanks to the fact that the latter spent six years at Saint-Etienne, France’s most successful club, before a move to the Turkish capital Ankara to play for Genclerbirligi. A far cry from Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra, Crawley Town and Partick Thistle where Mathias has played.
He's currently without a club after being released by Eredivisie strugglers Sparta Rotterdam, which makes Pogba’s occasional benching at the hands of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United feel like a fairly minor problem.
3. Rodney Sneijder
The youngest of the three Sneijder brothers, Rodney was on the books at Ajax from eight years old and was approached by Real Madrid in 2008 – aged 17 – until Wesley nixed the proposed move. “I stopped the discussions,” Wesley said. “I've told him that he first must make a breakthrough at Ajax."
That breakthrough never came for Rodney who joined FC Utrecht on a season-long loan in 2011 before joining Waalwijk the following summer. After spells at Almere City in the Eerste Divisie and Dundee United, he signed with DHSC in the sixth tier of Dutch football last summer. Wesley, meanwhile, left Real Madrid in 2009 to sign for Inter where he won the Treble to go alongside his 100+ caps for the Netherlands. If only...
4. Willy Aubameyang
The Aubameyang brothers were all on the books at Milan at one point but Pierre-Emerick was the only one to not play an official game for the Rossoneri. Catilina, the eldest of the three, played a grand total of three matches for the Italian giants but managed to win the Champions League in 2002/03 having played five minutes as a substitute in a Group Stage defeat to Deportivo La Coruna. Willy played a Coppa Italia game against Catania for Milan but after leaving the club in 2011 his career highlight was a six-game spell with Kilmarnock in Scotland. All three brothers have been capped multiple times by Gabon but none have managed to match the 80 caps their father, Pierre, won during his career.
Willy now plays for Kray in the German equivalent of League Two, while younger bro Pierre-Emerick was bought by Arsenal for £56m this winter.
5. Tobias Schweinsteiger
Now assistant to former West Germany international Wolfgang Dremmler for the Bayern U17 side, Tobias enjoyed a decent career in the German lower leagues before hanging up his boots in 2015 – having played his last couple of seasons in Bayern’s second team – at the same time his brother Bastian left Munich to sign for Manchester United, the team Tobias had grown up supporting.
He played as high as the 2. Bundesliga with Eintracht Braunschweig in the 2006/07 season and captained Jahn Regensburg to promotion to the second tier in 2012 but never came close to his World Cup winning brother’s level.
6. Jordan Lukaku
Jordan Lukaku came through the ranks at Anderlecht before moving to Oostende in 2013 while Romelu was banging them in for Everton, as the brothers’ careers seemed to be taking opposite courses. After three solid years on the coast, Jordan got his chance and moved to Lazio, where he’s been carving out a good career on the left flank.
He has also made seven appearances for the national team – including one appearance at Euro 2016, albeit in the Red Devils’ shock 3-1 loss to Wales. He'll likely make the 2018 World Cup squad, but have to contend with a place on his bench while his brother leads the line up front.
7. Felix Kroos
Toni’s little brother came through the ranks at Hansa Rostock and was capped by the national side at every youth level from U16 to U21. He was picked up by German heavyweights Werder Bremen in 2010, spending almost six seasons in the Bundesliga before dropping back down to the second division with Union Berlin where he is captain and a key player for the Iron Ones. They’re currently in seventh place in the table with a decent chance of making the promotion play-offs.
A decent footballing career for Felix, but while he was firmly stuck in mid-table, older brother Toni was busy winning league and Champions League titles with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. And the World Cup, naturally.
8. Joel Drogba
Joel is one of footballing Drogba brothers, and, it seems, the worst. While Didier was busying himself winning four Premier League titles, a Champions League and a host of other trophies at Chelsea and Galatasaray and youngest brother Freddy on the books at Le Mans and Dijon, poor old Joel spent one year in Ukraine with Metalurh Donetsk without kicking a ball.
Having played for Metz and Le Mans at youth level, Joel landed a string of random trials with St. Pauli, Vietnamese outfit Becamex Binh Duong, NK Zagreb and Leyton Orient – none of which turned into a professional contract.
9. Vanja Milinkovic-Savic
While big brother Sergej is the target for some of Europe’s top clubs following a sensational season with Lazio, goalkeeper Vanja is warming the bench for Torino following a move last summer from Polish Ekstraklasa side Lechia Gdansk. Milinkovic-Savic the younger – all 6ft 8in of him – had spent a season at Manchester United but failed to get a work permit, before moving to Poland.
Both brothers were in the Serbia squad that won the U20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015, with Sergej winning the Bronze Ball and poor old Vanja sat on the bench.
10. Francois Kompany
While Vincent was helping Manchester City win their first trophy in the 2010/11 season, younger brother Francois was trying to establish himself just down the road with Macclesfield Town. It never worked out at Moss Rose for Francois, though.
Vincent won his first FA Cup that season, while Francois was released without having made a first-team appearance for the Silkmen. A career in the lower reaches of the Belgian league followed, although Francois re-signed with second-tier Roeselare in February 2018. Meanwhile, Kompany Major is still winning cup finals with Manchester City.
11. Paolo Suarez
The older brother of Barcelona’s Luis, Paolo has been knocking around the South and Central American leagues since 1996, playing his football with Uruguayan side Fenix, Colombian team Independiente Santa Fe and Salvadorean outfit Isidro Metapan, where he’s currently enjoying his third spell at the grand old age of 37.
Rarely prolific in front of goal, Paolo last hit double figures for goals in the 2011/12 season – though he does have four Liga Nacional Clausura and Apertura titles to his name. So at least there’s that to bring up when Luis gets out his Champions League and Liga medals.
12. David Eto'o
When Samuel was banging them in at Real Mallorca in the early-2000s, the club took a punt on a 16-year-old David Eto’o in the hope he would prove as successful as his big brother. The budding striker never came close to reaching the same level but did at least carve out a career in the game and got to play with Drogba for a time. Joel Drogba that is, who was at Ukrainian side Metalurg Donetsk at the same time as the younger Eto’o.
David’s career has included spells in Spain, France, Switzerland, Ukraine, Greece, Slovenia and Cameroon with 16 different clubs. Samuel, meanwhile, has won back-to-back trebles with Barcelona and Inter, as well as 118 caps for Cameroon and is still scoring goals in the Turkish Super Lig with Konyaspor. It’s been quite a journey for them both.
