Football is full of rags-to-riches stories – Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, to name a couple.
But dig a little deeper and you’ll find a handful of lesser told riches-to-riches tales, too. Some of the popular footballers you know were born into money thanks to their wealthy families.
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Here are 5 footballers you probably didn’t realise were from privileged backgrounds:
Andrea Pirlo
A true model of class, Pirlo never talks about money. He is, however, accustomed to having plenty of it.
The Italy legend’s dad founded a steel company in Brescia in 1982.
Pirlo retains a stake in the family business, but is also a wine connoisseur and owns a vineyard near to where he grew up in northern Italy.
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Robin van Persie
The son of two artists, Van Persie says he was “raised liberally”.
His dad, Bob, is a successful sculptor, while his mum, Jose Ras, is a painter and jewellery designer.
The former Dutch striker was brought up by his father after his parents divorced.
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Gerard Pique
Pique is no stranger to prosperity.
The Spain international, who is in a long-term relationship with Colombian singer Shakira, was born into a wealthy family in Catalonia.
His dad, Joan, is a successful lawyer and businessman, while his mum, Montserrar, is the director of a hospital in Barcelona.
Pique’s grandad, Amador Bernabeu, is a former director at the Nou Camp.
Hugo Lloris
There can’t be many footballers named after leaders of the Romantic literary movement, can there?
But then Tottenham and France captain Lloris is far from your average footballer.
The keeper’s name was inspired by Victor Hugo, who wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
He was born in Nice to parents Luc, an investment banker, and mum Marie, a successful lawyer.
As a child, he enjoyed an upper-class lifestyle, taking daily tennis lessons before switching to football.
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Mario Gotze
Gotze’s dad is Jurgen Gotze…Professor Jurgen Gotze.
These days, Gotze senior works at the Dortmund University of Technology, but in the 1990s he held a research position in the computer science department of America’s prestigious Yale University.
There is no doubting Gotze junior’s talents, but it has been suggested that his father’s money and influence played a part in the 26-year-old’s progression at Borussia Dortmund.
source: mirror
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