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Are there poker players in football? Which footballers play poker, if any? And are there any poker-skilled football players? These are the inquiries we will be responding to today.
The fact that footballers are among the highest-paid athletes in the world is generally known. The majority of football players who are professionals are not compelled to play poker to increase their income, but that does not mean they cannot enjoy themselves just like every one of us.
Online poker has never been simpler than it is now, thanks to the top mobile poker sites. Some football stars have actually been known to appear at live tables, though, and bag some juicy winnings. Here are the ten most famous football players (arranged according to the sonority of their name in the football world), in our opinion, who also play poker. So, without further ado…
# 1 Ronaldo (Brazil)
Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or in 2015, the highest individual honor in football. Another widely recognized Ronaldo, Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, missed that exact award ceremony for the Ballon d’Or to compete in the Bahamas-based PokerStars contest.
Ronaldo amassed a considerable trophy collection while representing clubs like Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Milan, among others. He also helped Brazil win two FIFA World Cups, taking home the Golden Boot in 2002.
# 2 Neymar (Brazil)
Officially, Neymar (full name: Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior) is the most expensive football player in history. For the Brazilian’s services in 2017, Paris Saint-Germain shelled out an astounding €222 million to Barcelona.
The 31-year-old favors playing poker online since it allows him to access the top online casinos. After having surgery on his feet in 2018, he competed in a high-stakes online competition and placed 474th among more than 5,000 participants.
# 3 Teddy Sheringham (England)
There is no doubt that Teddy Sheringham is among the top footballers who play poker, with a cumulative income of more than $300,000.
Sheringham earned the Premier League Golden Boot in 1993, and in 2000-01, he was also named the FWA Footballer of the Year and PFA Players’ Player of the Year. He no longer rules the football field; he now rules the poker table. He finished fifth and earned €93,121 in the €5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event of the EPT Vilamoura in 2010. That year, he made it to the final table. In addition, he earned $60,000 for finishing 14th in the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event.
# 4 Tomas Brolin (Sweden)
Tomas Brolin’s football career, sadly, was short-lived. The Swede’s sporting journey came to an end in 1998 when he was only 28 owing to injury issues that caused him to retire. On a more upbeat note is that Brolin is now recognized as one of the best football players who sat at the poker table.
Additionally, he has earned two amounts of cash while competing on the European Poker Tour by PokerStars.com. His greatest success occurred in Monte Carlo, during which he gained $60,129 for placing 38th out of 842 competitors in the 2008 competition.
# 5 Gerard Piqué (Spain)
Many people consider Gerard Piqué to be one of his generation’s top defenders. The center-back has played more than 600 times for Barcelona, earning three UEFA Champions League trophies and eight La Liga championships along the way. But are you aware that he is a top poker player as well as a top football player?
In 2019, Piqué took part in the European Poker Tour the day after playing for “Barça”. He did not only watch the competition, though; after placing second, he took home a tidy €391,775! Funny enough, Arturo Vidal, Piqué’s former teammate, also reached the final table on that precise occasion.
# 6 Tony Cascarino (Ireland)
When we first considered publishing a story on football players who are proficient at poker, Tony Cascarino’s name was the first to come to mind. The former striker, who played for illustrious teams like Chelsea, Marseille, Aston Villa, and Celtic, called it quits on his professional career back in 2000. Since that time, he has amassed poker winnings totaling more than $500,000 in total.
Cascarino’s poker adventures occasionally eclipse his football accomplishments because of his feats at the table. About $300,000 had been taken by Cascarino from the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour. Even better, he won the grand prize of the 2009 Grosvenor UK Poker Tour, earning a staggering $200,000 for his efforts.
# 7 Jan Mølby (Denmark)
Jan Mølby is one of the most well-known football players who play poker, despite the fact that his poker career pales in comparison to those of stars like Cascarino and Sørensen (about him in a minute).
The time Mølby spent at Premier League powerhouse Liverpool is well remembered. The Danish international played just about 300 times for the “Reds” between 1984 and 1996, contributing to their various championships and awards. Mølby cemented his name in Anfield mythology by winning two FA Cups and three Premier League titles with Liverpool. For the “Honorary Scouser”, the fun did not end there.
# 8 Vikash Dhorasoo (France)
Vikash Dhorasoo used to wear jerseys from some of the top football clubs in Europe. The Frenchman won titles with Bordeaux, Milan, and PSG after helping Lyon win back-to-back Ligue 1 championships in 2003 and 2004. Additionally, Dhorasoo was a member of the France team that finished as runners-up in the 2006 World Cup. He scored once while making a total of 18 caps for “Les Bleus”.
However, Dhorasoo has achieved success as a poker player more than once. After his PSG contract expired in 2006, he started playing poker professionally for Winamax. He continued on to win competitions and events, earning over $500,000 in the process. In the $2,200 Barrier Poker Tour in 2010, Dhorasoo earned $187,887 for his victory. He has also won twice on the European Poker Tour, bringing his overall earnings to over $525,000.