With Morocco knocking Portugal out of the World Cup tournament in Qatar and Argentina’s last-minute win, the world is watching the prestigious football tournament with bated breath. Some of football’s top superstars on the pitch, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, haven’t performed as well as they could have on the pitch – but what about their performance off it?
Over the past few years, many international soccer professionals have expressed an interest in poker, and it looks like they have huge potential in this arena as well! Who are these football smarts who also like to play poker? And do they have a future in the industry?
While the World Cup drama continues, let’s take a look at some of the best poker players who happen to be professional athletes in ours Every poker game review!
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3 soccer professionals who play poker
When you think about it, there are a lot of similarities between poker and football: both are competitive games that rely on both skill and luck, and most importantly, require great observation skills to analyze your opponent’s moves.
With all this in mind, it’s no wonder why some footballers can’t stay away from the poker tables! So which soccer stars also manage to score when they play poker?
Cristiano Ronaldo
The 37-year-old Portuguese superstar is used to winning. Throughout his career, he featured in more than a thousand matches, scoring 819 goals in the process – making him one of the most successful footballers out there.
But it looks like Ronaldo’s international career may be coming to an end and fans are wondering if he will look for another game to play full-time. Over the years, the international superstar has taken an interest in poker, participating in numerous high-profile matches.
In 2015, Ronaldo became the face of a famous online poker site, and just a year later, he participated in two poker duels against Aaron Paul and Mireya Lalaguna Royo – and won. In an interview, Ronaldo said: “I started playing poker a few years ago and I love the competition, the strategy and the fun… Although football is my world, poker has always been my game.”
Although he has no recorded poker winnings, it is clear that ‘Cr7’ is well versed in the ins and outs of the poker world. Who knows? We might see him on the poker tables sooner rather than later!
Gerard Pique
The legendary 35-year-old Barcelona defender recently announced that he plans to hang up his hangers for good. But while it is clear that Pique is done with his difficult career, he may still be interested in a different kind of game.
The Spanish footballer made $668,155 in live winnings. His first recorded win was in 2011 when he participated in the European Poker Tour, but his biggest win was in 2019 when he won €352,950 in an EPT event. Although he hasn’t been seen at popular poker tournaments in recent years, Piqué seems to have a knack for poker. So hopefully we’ll be reading about Pique’s participation in a poker tournament soon!
Neymar Jr
The 32-year-old Brazilian football professional has had a very fruitful career so far. But in addition to scoring goals for Paris Saint-Germain, he is also quite an active member of the poker community.
Neymar first started playing poker in 2016 and has slowly but surely made a name for himself. In addition to becoming a spokesperson for a prestigious poker brand, the famous athlete managed to participate in numerous EPT and WSOP events, winning $32,131 in the process.
Although his poker earnings are almost peanuts compared to his annual football earnings, there’s no telling how far he’ll go when it comes to playing poker – online or offline!
In conclusion
Who is your favorite soccer/poker player of all time? Do you believe that any of these professional athletes could have a promising poker career?