Football stars are often seen as a role model that even some of the football fans idolize and look up to. Some wished to be like their favorite football stars wasn’t because of anything, but because of the way they play and how they appear when they don the jersey of their respective clubs or countries.
Sometimes, the fans get disappointed by those they followed, idolize, or loved keenly when they falter doing something that makes them feel disgusted or hate them because of their mistakes.
More often than not, football stars tend to involve themselves in something that shouldn’t be traced to them. However, the fact that they are human they are definitely not immune to mistakes even with all of their millions just like you and I make mistakes.
Although the word infidelity is something that doesn’t exist in the footballer’s world. Unluckily for some fans, what they thought of their favorite football stars as role models don’t really looks like that, as they also make decisions that put them under scrutiny and in the headlines.
Football stars and their relationship is something that should remain sacred, because of luxury and fame. They tend to always be at the receiving end of scandals through infidelity or some other things that would make them give in to temptation by either cheating on their wives or girlfriends.
Today, Cheapgoals will take a look at football stars who are caught in the web of infidelity both retired and active.
Name: Mauro Icardi
Nationality/Club: Argentina & Paris Saint Germain
Age: 27
The former Inter Milan captain caused a huge rift between him and former teammates and close friends Maxi Lopez when he decided to break the friendship code by getting too cozy with his former teammate’s wife Wanda Nara when they were both at Sampdoria.
Wanda who is a big media personality back in Argentina was Lopez’s wife. But in the process of getting closer with Icardi while still engaged to Lopez, things went wrong and it all leads to a showdown in 2014 when Sampodria played against Inter Milan, as the match was tagged the ‘Wanda Derby‘ by the Italian media which led to Lopez refusing to shake Icardi hands.
However, in 2016 Icardi came out to clear his name on the long-running battle with Lopez, saying
“Everyone speaks about the Wanda issues without knowing the truth”. “When I started with her, I played alongside Diego Milito, Cambiasso, Samuel, and Javier Zanetti and they all knew the story because I told them”.
According to Icardi. he said he was a friend of the couple and acquaintances after they split up, Icardi, Lopez, and Wanda kept in contact and fell in love and since then both Wanda and Icardi have been married.
Name: Jordan Ayew
Nationality/Club: Ghana & Crystal Palace
Age: 28
Jordan the half brother of Andrea Ayew is another player that was caught in between the web of infidelity with the wife of his national team teammates Acquah Afriyie.
The former Torino midfielder wife Amanda was reported to have been in a secret relationship with Jordan for four years. Wow, such secrecy.
A leaked audio tape on YouTube was what broke the camel back when it was revealed that Jordan had been in a relationship with the wife of Afriyie. According to Amanda, she subsequently admitted that she had been with Jordan for four years and not four days.
According to Amanda, she revealed that her husband wasn’t matured enough for marriage, that the separation is important because she felt the former Empoli star needed some time to grow up and learn something more about relationship and marriage.
Even though the couples are separated due to the scandal, yet Amanda claimed the two are still legally married as they both need time to grow, matured, and understand each other.
Name: Michael Ballack
Nationality/Club: Germany & Retired
Age: 43
In 2007, Ballack was accused of having an affair with his German teammate wife. The former Die Mannschaft player Lell said Ballack set foot in other people’s lives and ruins them without further thought about the consequences.
The former Levante player is extremely unlucky as he was always on the receiving end of infidelity from his partners.
First, it was with Ballack and his partner Daniella Aumann whom he married to now, and secondly with Melanie Rickinger who was reported to have had an affair with Mesut Ozil, who is also a German international while they were still together.
When this low act transpired, Ballack was the captain of the German team, his captaincy hand band was never stripped off and the entire report about the bizarre and low act went under the radar.
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Name: Thibaut Courtois
Nationality/Club: Belgium & Real Madrid
Age: 27
Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois, in 2013 was alleged to have had an affair with his Belgian teammate partner Caroline Lijnen back then when he was with Atletico Madrid. His teammate De Bruyne was reported to be devastated about the affair when he found out the betrayal in friendship with Courtois and that of his girlfriend Lijnen.
Both players had reconciled and moved on after what happened, as they’ve both played for Belgium at the World Cup thereafter, and their past betrayal didn’t affect the national team just like we’ve seen in another national team.
These two great football stars may be one of the finest teammates in the national team, but one thing that is certain is that they may not be two of best friends again due to what transpired between them and the partner in question.
Name: John Harkes
Nationality/Club: USA & Retired
Age: 53
The World Cup in France 98 was a big disaster for the US national team when the team captain was dropped by then-manager Steve Sampson.
Harkes was accused of having an affair with teammate Eric Wynalda‘s wife which Wynalda himself reported the affair to the manager and Harkes was dropped from the team.
The scandal was tagged a ‘Messy Affair‘ by the media in the subsequent year after the world cup because it’s orchestrated their poor and lethargic performance at the World Cup, losing to the German national team and Iran.
Although Harkes did deny the affair, it was an affair the Americans will never forget in a jiffy due to its effect on their performance.
However, Wynalda insisted that an affair did take place, and according to Sampson, he said Roy Wegerle a US player and the assistant manager Clive Charles came to him, that they had personal knowledge of the affair, and since then Wynalda had gone on to divorced his wife in 2003.
Name: Christian Keller
Nationality/Club: Denmark & Retired
Age: 39
The Danish Superliga was hit with the Jonas Borring and Christian Keller scandal in 2016 when it’s emerged that Keller was having an affair with Borring’s wife Kira, although Keller was the captain of FC Randers he didn’t behave like a captain and a leader he was supposed to be.
Borring was devastated about the whole thing, and he refused to play with the team. Borring left the club shortly after the whole scenario stating that he was battling with emotional turmoil as it was too much for him to bear and return to the club after he left.
According to Borring, “Kira decided in late 2015 that she will not be with him anymore that they are separating, however, they still lived under the same roof with two children and they are technically still husband and wife.
Borring said that Kira’s decision to do that impacted them greatly and it’s made the situation untenable at Randers between himself and Keller, saying that Keller has broken rule number one in the dressing room and completely stabbed him in the back.
Name: Patrice Evra
Nationality/Club: France & Retired
Age: 38
The former Manchester United left-back was involved in an extramarital affair with model Carla Howe when he was with the Red Devils, the defender was reported to have bedded Howe in a Paris hotel.
Howe claimed she never knew that the former Les Blue captain was married, saying that the French star only paid her the morning after the whole thing and never told her he had a family.
Despite pursuing her relentlessly after they first met which was the genesis of how Evra started phoning, texting, and even sending intimate pictures of himself to Howe.
The Howe half-sister said she loved Evra and thought they had something special, but it was all lies, that what Evra wanted was to have her.
Howe went further to say she felt terrible for his wife Sandra because the former Monaco star was messaging her dozens of times a day for months without telling her he had a wife.
Name: Mesut Ozil
Nationality/Club: Germany & Arsenal
Age: 31
The German midfielder was dragged into a public row with a fellow German teammate Christain Lell when he was accused of cheating on his hip-pop music star Mandy Capristo with the partner of Lell Rickinger.
According to Lell who somewhat ungraciously described his ex as a snake and further explained that she had exchanged intimate messages with Ozil on Whatsapp.
However, Ozil himself refused to comment on the situation then, and likewise, his agent Roland Eitel who also reiterated they’re not commenting on the issue, that they will keep an eye on the situation and take legal action if necessary.
Meanwhile, Lell’s ex said her boyfriend is crazy and never denied having an affair with Ozil.
Even Capristo refused to comment on the allegations, and she deleted all the pictures of the former Real Madrid playmaker from her social media accounts, as both went their separate ways.
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Name: John Terry
Nationality/Club: England & Retired
Age: 39
One thing that is synonymous with the former England captain is controversies. First was his infidelity scandal when he admitted that he had cheated on wife Toni Poole in the past, the former Chelsea defender claimed it was all said and done that they had moved on from the issue.
However, the scandal that broke the camel’s back and the biggest of all was the one that happened back in 2010 when Terry had a four-month affair with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel who was reportedly pregnant and aborted the baby.
The scandal led to Terry losing his captaincy with the national team and was criticized so badly in the media and soon became a national villain in the country.
Name: Wayne Rooney
Nationality/Club: England & Derby County
Age: 34
Rooney admitted to his frequently messaging Jennifer Thompson while they were in a secret relationship despite being married to Coleen McLoughlin. Jennifer claimed that Rooney had paid for her services whilst his wife was pregnant with their son Kai.
Former England forward found himself under a lot of pressure from the media, and as such the pressure affected him on the pitch.
Surprisingly but then understandably, Rooney’s family backed the betrayed wife to divorce England’s forward.
According to the English press, Natalie who was Rooney’s cousin directly told Coleen to
“Bag him, and bin him, you deserve a million times better not someone who does this to you and treats you like a speck of dirt while he is out sleeping with dirt”. ” Rooney has more money than sense and is a disgrace”.
Name: Thierry Henry
Nationality/Club: France & Retired
Age: 49
Arsenal legend Henry was allegedly reported to have had an affair with makeup artist Sadie Hewlett after they both worked together on a photo shoot. Apparently, Henry’s wife Claire Merry found out that her husband was cheating on her and filed for divorce not too long after he moved to Barcelona.
Thereafter, Henry’s name went viral on social media as he gained popularity as a notorious cheat and also lost his wife to divorce with an £8 million settlement for Merry.
However, despite the scandal it doesn’t affect the Frenchman’s performance for the Catalan side as he went on to achieved success with the Spanish giant.
Name: Ashley Cole
Nationality/Club: England & Retired
Age: 39
Former Chelsea left-back Cole earned himself the reputation ‘The Bad Boy‘ when the media nabbed him with a series of fling with top models.
Back in 2008, Cole and his wife Cheryl were one of the best England’s power couples. Things turned worst for the couples as it was revealed that Cole was cheating on his wife.
The report revealed that Cole was involved with top models Coralie Robinson, Brooke Healy, and hairdresser Aimee Walton while still married to his wife Cheryl.
When the allegations refused to go away in 2010, he split from the nation’s darling Cheryl and he went on to became England’s number one enemy and hated husband.
