Famous Football Stars Who Play Poker

Poker is undoubtedly one of the most popular card games in the world played by people at home or in land-based and online casinos. The best players compete in glamorous tournaments for massive prize pots, often reaching millions of dollars. Many celebrities are also enjoying the game for charity or real money in some of the most famous casino establishments in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Monte Carlo. Among them are many current and former football stars who can impress not only with their skills on the field but also around the table.

Luís Nazario de Lima Ronaldo

The Fenomeno is defined by many as perhaps the most ingenious footballer of all time. And while his skills as a card shark have not been yet proven, he represents the PokerStars brand in South America, including Brazil. He made that official by signing a contract and acting as an ambassador of the biggest poker playing room. In addition to participating in various advertising campaigns, he often takes part in the Team PokerStars SportStars tournaments in the PokerStars series. In 2015, Ronaldo won more than $42,000 prize from the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Lothar Matthaus

The German legend from the recent past is another fan of poker! Lothar Matthaus participated in five FIFA World Cup championships, lifting the trophy once in 1990 and being awarded Ballon d’Or in the same year. Today, he works for Sky Sports and also takes part in other television shows. About poker, Lothar Matthaus never hid that he played poker during its entire career, but only as a hobby. He mentioned once or twice that his favorite poker game is Texas Hold’Em.

Gerard Pique

Gerard Pique, one of the acting FC Barcelona captains, is a huge poker fan. However, he can’t participate in many live tournaments as his career is still ongoing. To date, he can boast of one FIFA World Cup trophy won in 2010 and one English and eight Spanish championship titles. Furthermore, Gerard Pique has won four times the UEFA Champions League, seven times the Copa del Rey cup, and many other titles and awards. The famous footballer has a couple of very good participations in large poker competitions – 3rd place in a local Barcelona tournament (won around $44,000) and 19th place in the EPT series high-roller tournaments (prize of around $24,000).

Teddy Sheringham

The ex-superstar of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and the English national football team is a pretty successful poker player. In 2001, at the age of 35, he was awarded Footballer of the Year (FWA) and PFA Players’ Player of the Year (PFA). He retired at the age of 42 and is now enjoying life by playing golf, participating in TV shows, and raising children. Teddy Sheringham is also traveling the world playing poker on some of the most impressive tables. His total winnings are already exceeding $500,000, with the biggest one (over $100,000) from the Vilamoura tour part of the EPT series.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best football players of our time and is currently part of the Manchester United team. Besides earning millions from football, the Portuguese is running successful businesses. CR7 boasts five Ballon d’Or awards and numerous others in its professional career. He became a European champion with Portugal in 2016 and had many club cups in its showcase. Cristiano Ronaldo is playing poker mostly online, using the nickname CR7sete. He has been spotted playing Texas Hold’Em and Omaha with his friends, some of which are popular poker professionals (Patrik Antonius, Daniel Cates, etc.).

Francesco Totti

The Golden Boy is one of the most loyal players who has ever carried the colors of A.S.Roma. Francesco Totti spent 25 years playing for the club of its heart. He scored over 250 goals as an attacking midfielder and won the Italian Serie A and twice Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana. In 2010, he became a Party Poker face and took part in many events, concluding that he likes poker and finds many things in common with football. Francesco Totti participated in the World Poker Tour tournament as part of his contract and later in several charity games as well.

Tony Cascarino

The twenty-year football career of the famed Irish striker is quite interesting as he has played for clubs like Chelsea, Olympique de Marseille, Celtic, and Aston Villa. Cascarino has 88 appearances and 19 goals for the Republic of Ireland national football team. He scored almost 250 times for his club teams. Tony Cascarino has said plenty of times during and after his career that he likes gambling as a way to relax. He uses the services of well-established online casinos but is also part of live tournaments. In fact, he won almost £170,000 on the 2009 British Poker Tour, reaching the final table.

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is another iconic Italian football superstar! The famous goalkeeper is still active, competing for Parma at the age of 44. Gigi has more than 500 appearances for Juventus and almost 180 for the Italian national team. He has won almost everything significant in football, including 10 Italian championship titles and the FIFA World Cup in 2006. In poker, Buffon has scored some good wins as an online player, which brought him a PokerStars ambassador contract. He claims that he’ll spend much more time playing poker after the end of his football career.