It sounds like a contradiction in terms: famous footballers who surprisingly don’t like football. The idea alone feels wrong, almost unthinkable. The world grows up worshipping the game, talking about it, and dreaming about it.
Streets turn into pitches, bedrooms into commentary boxes, and Saturday afternoons into rituals. Yet, for a handful of the game’s brightest stars, football has never been that kind of love story.
Some play it, master it, and walk away untouched by its spell. They can bend a free kick into the top corner, lift trophies that others would give anything for, and still feel no pull to switch on a match when they’re home. Their connection is physical, not romantic.
They love the action, not the atmosphere. It’s work, not worship.
For fans, that truth feels almost absurd. How could someone train for decades, sacrifice so much, and not live and breathe the game? But the answer is more human than it seems. When your entire life is scheduled around training sessions, matches, recovery, media duties, and expectations, the last thing some players want to do on their day off is watch more football.
It’s not about contempt. It’s about space. About finding a bit of calm in a world that never switches off. When you’re a professional footballer, every mistake lives forever on replay. Every facial expression becomes a headline. Every tweet, a story. It’s a job that doesn’t end at the tunnel.
So when some players say they don’t like football, what they really mean is that they like living. They crave something that belongs to them, not to the game.
These players perform at the highest level. They turn up, train hard, deliver results, and carry teams on their backs. The passion is there, but it’s the passion to compete, to be excellent, to win on their terms. Not to sit through a Champions League quarterfinal that doesn’t involve them, not to memorize lineups or talk tactics over dinner.
They’re not villains or rebels. They’re just real people who happened to be exceptionally good at something the world can’t stop watching.
Let’s meet famous soccer players who reached the very top, only to look down from it and say, You know what, I’m not that into this game after all.
1. Ben White
White stands out not just for his composure on the pitch but for how detached he is from the beautiful game when the whistle blows. While many professionals spend their free time watching matches, dissecting tactics, or following results, White prefers to keep football at arm’s length.
He once said openly, “I watch myself for analytical reasons. I watch England, maybe, but I’m always busy doing something. I wouldn’t just sit down and watch a game. I didn’t ever watch football when I was younger. I still don’t now. I just loved the game, I was always playing it, never watching.”
That bluntness raised eyebrows. In England, a country where football runs deep in identity and community, saying you don’t watch the game can sound almost sacrilegious. But for White, it’s simply honesty. He plays to compete, to improve, to do his job. Beyond that, he switches off.
His lack of football knowledge once caused tension with England assistant Steve Holland during the 2022 World Cup. Yet, that hasn’t stopped him from becoming a central figure in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, a player whose professionalism speaks louder than any off-field interest.
White’s story reflects a truth that often surprises fans: dedication doesn’t always require obsession.
2. Marc-André ter Stegen
Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. His composure, reflexes, and ability to play out from the back have redefined what a modern goalkeeper can be. But talk to him about soccer trivia, and he’ll likely shrug.
He once said with a smile, “People laugh when I tell them I have no idea about football. I don’t see a lot of football, except when there are good games or when I’m particularly interested in one because I have a relationship or a friend.”
He even admitted that sometimes, when asked about other players, he can’t name them. “Sometimes they ask me for a player’s name and I have no idea. In La Liga, for example, it happens to me with names. I don’t know what they are called. But later, when they show me the video, I realize that I know exactly who it is. I remember better how they move on the field, how they kick or stand out.”
It’s a fascinating glimpse into how an athlete can be deeply attuned to the mechanics of the game but disconnected from its culture.
For Ter Stegen, football is work, not entertainment. He approaches it with discipline, but when it’s over, he’s happy to turn his focus elsewhere.
3. Gareth Bale
Few players have been as openly misunderstood as Gareth Bale. His time at Real Madrid was full of tension, brilliant goals followed by criticism from fans and media who accused him of caring more about golf than football.
When he held up a flag reading “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order,” it only fueled the narrative.
Bale didn’t deny it. In 2018, he told ESPN, “I don’t really watch much football. I’d rather watch golf, to be honest.”
That one sentence summed him up perfectly. For Bale, golf wasn’t a distraction; it was peace. While soccer brought pressure and scrutiny, golf gave him freedom. It was quiet, methodical, and personal. It wasn’t about proving anything to anyone.
Despite that, Bale’s record speaks for itself: Champions League heroics, unforgettable free kicks, and a legacy that remains secure.
His disinterest in watching soccer didn’t take away from his ability to dominate it.
4. Carlos Tevez
Carlos Tevez, another player drawn more to golf than goals, has always done things his way. The Argentine forward, who played for Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus, once admitted, “I don’t watch any football on television. I don’t like football. I’ve never been a fan of football; I simply like to play and to have the ball at my feet.”
He explained further, “If Barcelona and Real Madrid are playing each other, but there is a golf tournament on another channel, I’ll choose to watch the golf instead.”
Tevez’s connection to soccer was physical and emotional in the moment of play, not intellectual or cultural. He loved the energy of the pitch, the noise, the movement, but once the match ended, his mind moved elsewhere.
It’s a reminder that for some players, the joy lies in participation, not observation.
5. Benoît Assou-Ekotto
Few players have spoken as frankly about the business of football as Benoît Assou-Ekotto. The former Tottenham defender once said, “If I come to England, where I knew nobody and I didn’t speak English… why did I come here? For a job.”
He didn’t dress it up. For him, football was work; good work, well-paid, but still work. “It’s only a job. Yes, it’s a good, good job, and I don’t say that I hate football, but it’s not my passion. I arrive in the morning at the training ground at 10.30 and I start to be professional. I finish at one o’clock and I don’t play football afterwards.”
After training, he became just another Londoner, taking the tube, exploring, enjoying life. His honesty was refreshing in a world where players are expected to show endless enthusiasm.
For him, realism mattered more than image.
6. David Bentley
Bentley was once seen as the next David Beckham. A gifted winger with sharp technique and confidence, he played for England and big clubs. But as the years went by, his enthusiasm faded.
He retired at just 29, saying, “I’ve fallen out of love with the game.”
In an interview with the Mirror, he reflected on how early the disillusionment began. “To be honest, I was even having a few doubts about football when I was at Blackburn,” he said. He described moments of walking his dog and thinking, This ain’t for me.
What drained him wasn’t the sport itself but the culture around it; the endless pressure, the politics, and the artificial expectations. “I just got tired of all the bull**** that goes with it, people wanting you to sell yourself as something you’re not.”
Bentley chose peace over fame. Today, he runs a restaurant and lives quietly, content to have closed that chapter.
7. Bobby Zamora
Zamora, who played for West Ham, Fulham, and QPR, was a solid striker who reached the heights of the Premier League and even represented England. Yet he once said, “I’m not a massive football fan, really. I don’t watch games on an evening or anything like that.”
He added that many players felt the same way, they just didn’t say it. The idea that football should consume every waking hour didn’t appeal to him. “If it means watching football, then I don’t want to get involved,” he admitted when asked about life after retirement.
Zamora’s attitude might surprise fans who believe passion is essential for success. But he proves that consistency and professionalism can carry someone far, even without obsession.
8. David Batty
When David Batty retired from football in 2004, he disappeared almost entirely from public life. The former Leeds and England midfielder chose a private existence in North Yorkshire, avoiding interviews and appearances.
Years earlier, he summed up his feelings bluntly: “The national game is boring. I’ve not been to watch any match since I finished playing. I can never understand anybody paying to watch it.”
To him, soccer had been a means to an end, not a lifelong love. “You want to be entertained,” he said, suggesting that watching matches didn’t offer that for him.
Batty’s disinterest makes his legacy even more curious; he was known for his grit, intelligence, and consistency on the pitch. Yet once he stepped away, it was as if the game never existed for him again.
9. Gabriel Batistuta
Batistuta’s name carries weight. In the 1990s, he was among the deadliest strikers in world football, adored in Florence and Buenos Aires alike. But behind the glory, he saw the sport as a duty rather than a love.
“I do not like football, it is just my profession,” he once said on Argentine television.
His biographer confirmed that sentiment. “The important thing about Batistuta is that he is not like other players. He is a very good professional who doesn’t really like football,” wrote Alessandro Rialti. “Once he leaves the stadium, he doesn’t want football encroaching upon the rest of his life.”
Batistuta was meticulous and disciplined, but football was never a source of joy for him. His energy came from doing his job well, not from the culture that surrounded it.
10. Espen Baardsen
Espen Baardsen’s story is one of quiet clarity. A talented goalkeeper for Tottenham, Watford, and Norway, he progressed to the Premier League and even represented his country at the World Cup. Then, at just 25, he walked away.
“I got bored with football,” he said. “Once you’ve played in the Premier League and been to the World Cup, you’ve seen it and done it. It was dictating what I could do and when. I felt unsatisfied intellectually.”
He left the sport, travelled, studied finance, and found work in asset management. For Baardsen, fulfillment came from curiosity, not competition. Football had given him a platform, but it wasn’t where he wanted to stay.
11. Stephen Ireland
Stephen Ireland was known for his eccentric personality as much as his football talent. In 2007, a line on his Bebo page sparked attention: “Football is s**t, why did I get stuck doin’ it.”
Whether it was frustration or honesty, it matched the image of a player who often felt detached from the sport’s expectations. Ireland was gifted, but he struggled with the structure and intensity that professional football demanded.
His career drifted, and over time, he stepped away from the limelight.
His words may have been blunt, but they captured a deeper feeling shared by others: how passion can fade when the game stops feeling like freedom.
12. Dani Alves
For Dani Alves, one of the most decorated players in football history, the game has been both a platform and a cage. “I hate what surrounds football,” he once said. “I live in this world, but do not belong to it.”
He loved competing, performing, and expressing himself on the pitch, but the environment, the scrutiny, the politics, the noise took its toll. He often spoke of wanting to travel and disconnect completely when he retires. “When I leave football, I will put a backpack on and travel the world.”
It’s rare to hear someone so accomplished speak so openly about the downsides of fame. Alves reminds us that even those who’ve won it all can crave simplicity.
13. Ezequiel Lavezzi
The Argentine forward, known for his energy and flair, was another who viewed football as a temporary chapter. “Sometimes I think about giving it all up,” he said while still playing. “Once I leave football, I will not continue in the world of sport.”
He loved life, adventure, and experiences beyond the pitch. While others spoke about coaching or punditry, Lavezzi wanted distance.
To him, retirement wasn’t an end; it was freedom.
Beyond the Game
These stories paint a picture of football that’s rarely discussed. The beautiful game, for all its beauty is relentless. It consumes time, energy, and identity.
For every player who dreams of it since childhood, there’s another who stumbled into it through talent alone, without ever falling in love with the game.
What connects all these names is not arrogance or cynicism; it’s honesty. They see soccer as a craft, not a calling. They perform because they’re good at it, not because they can’t imagine life without it.
Fans might struggle to understand that, but it adds another layer to what makes the game so fascinating. Even among its brightest stars, there’s room for detachment. Passion is not the only path to greatness. Sometimes, skill, routine, and a strong work ethic are enough.
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