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Despite their high salaries, the majority of today’s soccer players have a diverse range of interests outside of the game, such as poker. A large number of well-known soccer players from around the world have also been involved in professional poker.
Poker is widely popular, thus there should be no shortage of athletes competing in poker events. Professional athletes from a range of sports, including football, basketball, golf, and soccer, have attended poker tournaments. Names such as Michael Jordan, Richard Seymour, and Ronaldo are among those who have competed in major poker events.
Furthermore, many of them have achieved considerable success in some of the most famous poker tournaments, such as the World Series of Poker. However, for the purposes of this debate, we will focus on soccer players who have competed in major poker events.
Seven of the top soccer players have also participated in professional poker tournaments
The following soccer players have, at various points in their careers, sat down to play poker alongside well-known figures in the game, such as Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu. The fact that both professional soccer players and poker stars enjoy enormous levels of popularity is something that both of these types of athletes share in common. Because the below-mentioned athletes do not typically make a living playing poker as a profession, it is impossible to compare their earnings to those of the greatest poker players in the annals of the game’s history. Despite this, it is abundantly clear that some of them have what it takes to compete at the professional level:
Pique, Gerard
Even though he is best known for playing defense for Barcelona FC, Gerard Pique is a very talented individual who possesses a wide range of skills. The Spanish defender’s skill as a poker player was on full display as he emerged victorious from the match. To be more specific, in 2019, Pique participated in the EPT (European Poker Tour) and finished in second place, earning him a total of $390,000 in prize money.
Neymar Junior
It is common knowledge that Brazilians account for some of the greatest soccer players in the annals of the game. His transfer to PSG was the most expensive contract ever recorded in the annals of sports, clocking in at over 220 million dollars. Poker is one of Neymar’s favorite ways to pass the time in his spare time. It’s possible that he didn’t leave the poker tables with a huge fortune, but he did walk away with €18,000. The highlight of his poker career is finishing in sixth place at the Brazilian Series of Poker in 2018. This result is widely considered to be his best.
Ronaldo
He is largely considered one of the all-time great soccer players. Ronaldo’s two Ballon d’Or titles have earned him a place in the soccer hall of fame all over the world. In addition to his football abilities, one of his key interests is competing in poker tournaments.
The only thing we can say about Ronaldo and poker is that he missed the Ballon d’Or presentation in 2015 because he was competing in a large tournament organized by PokerStars in the Caribbean. This is all we have to say about Ronaldo and poker. He performed well enough in this challenge to finish 26th and walk away with a tidy $42,000 prize.
Teddy Sheringham was there
Teddy Sheringham is a well-known striker who has played for both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. On the other hand, he is not only a fantastic goal scorer but also a competent poker player. Every year, poker brings in a phenomenal amount of money for him and his family—roughly $300,000— He competed in the World Series of Poker Main Tournament in 2016 and enjoyed the most memorable event of his poker career. Teddy Sheringham got to the top 15, taking 14th place in this round. His total winnings from this tournament were $60,000.00.
Cascarino, Tony
It was generally agreed that he was one of the best attackers to come out of Ireland during that era. Tony Cascarino has had the privilege of playing for a number of the most prestigious clubs in Europe, including Chelsea, Celtic, Marseille, and others. Following his retirement, he decided to pursue a career as a poker player at a professional level. His victory at the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Grand Final in 2009 was undeniably the crowning achievement of his long and illustrious poker career. It is said that Cascarino earned more than half a million dollars through his time spent playing poker while he was active in the professional soccer league.
Sorensen, Jan Vang
Because of a serious knee injury that forced him to retire at the age of 30, soccer player Jan Vang Sorensen is considered to be one of the unluckiest players in the history of the sport. On the other hand, he made the decision to test his luck at the poker tables, and so far he has had a good deal of success in this game. He is one of the very few soccer players who is also a skilled poker player and has won multiple bracelets at the World Series of Poker. To be more specific, he won two different events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the first being the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event in 2002, and the second being the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event in 2005.
Levi, David
Because of his short career with Hapoel Ramat Gan, you might not recognize him as a former soccer player. He was only with the team for a short period of time. On the other hand, you might recognize him from his time spent playing poker professionally. After a prosperous career as a soccer player, Levi is now living a high life as a professional poker player. As incredible as it may sound, it is anticipated that his earnings from poker will be greater than $2.6 million.
Levi has been a participant in multiple World Series of Poker tournaments in the past, and in two of those tournaments, he made it to the final table. When he was playing in the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship in 2007, he had an experience that will go down as one of the most memorable moments of his poker career. He completed the race in third place.