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10 Footballers Who Smoked During Their Careers

Several footballers throughout the years have smoked and indulged in this habit, something that is looked down upon, especially among athletes. While it does not directly affect your game, athletes are expected to maintain their bodies in peak physical condition. They also serve as role models for future generations, which is why the habit of smoking amongst athletes is looked down upon. This article talks about some of the most well-known footballers who indulged in smoking during their professional careers.

Which Footballers Smoked During Their Career?

10. Dimitar Berbatov

Credit: Dirty Tackle

There have been a lot of questions surrounding Dimitar Berbatov’s smoking. The player smoked on multiple occasions, and there is photographic evidence of him smoking, but Berbatov still denies that he is a smoker. No one knows for sure if he is a regular smoker, an occasional one, or just smoked to look cool. When asked about the picture of him smoking, the Bulgarian star replied: “No, sometimes when you see a picture, I just pretend to smoke to make me more of a cool guy.”

9. Marco Verratti

Credit: The18

Marco Verratti has smoked on several occasions. Italian media, however, seems to be more forgiving than the English press when it comes to smoking. While the player did receive criticism, he did not get slandered too much. The most viral video of Verratti when it comes to smoking was a video taken by a fan outside the club’s training ground. He tells Verratti, “Next time, hide your Cigarette”.

8. Wojciech Szczesny

WOJCIECH SZCZESNY was spotted with a cigarette in his mouth just hours before facing Spain.

Szczesny was caught smoking during his time at Arsenal and duly fined pic.twitter.com/sFht72NddA

— Lilian Chan (@bestgug) June 20, 2021

Wojciech Szczesny is a world-class goalkeeper who has played for some of the best teams in the world, including Arsenal and Juventus. He has been seen smoking multiple times, varying all the way from 2015 to 2021. He smoked in the showers at St Mary’s stadium after a game against Southampton in 215. The player was fined £20,000 for this incident. He was once again spotted smoking before a Euro 2020 match in 2021.

7. Jack Wilshere

What do you fans make of this Jack Wilshere smoking situation? pic.twitter.com/vWoSPOGTZF

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) October 4, 2013

Jack Wilshere has had his share of problems when it comes to smoking. He was first seen smoking outside a London nightclub in November 2013. He faced criticism for this; However, this was not the last time he was seen with a cigarette. He smoked one in a Las Vegas pool after England’s group-stage exit from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The midfielder was seen indulging in the same vice once again in 2015 after Arsenal’s win against Napoli. The player insisted that this was his last one and that he was going to quit smoking.

6. Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane is another legend who was spotted smoking while still being a professional footballer. The biggest issue with Zidane was that he was a part of an anti-smoking campaign in 2002. Despite this, he was seen smoking a cigarette before the 2006 World Cup semi-final against Portugal. There was some outrage as Zidane was part of an anti-smoking campaign, but fans quickly forgot about this and moved on.

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5. Mario Balotelli

Credit: Daily Mail

Mario Balotelli’s smoking habit was just one of the several points of discussion regarding his off-the-field antics. The striker was in the news quite often, and seldom for the correct reasons. During his time with AC Milan, the Italian was caught smoking in a train toilet during the team’s trip to Florence. He once again smoked in 2016 while he was at Liverpool, just two weeks ahead of the new Premier League season.

4. Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney tells funny story on the Overlap about smoking and drinking at 14 😂 pic.twitter.com/IVMCZAPj3D

— Sean (@Xcellent78) February 22, 2024

Wayne Rooney is one of the biggest names in football. The English star is among the best players ever to have graced the English Premier League. However, even such a big name was involved with controversies during his career. Wayne Rooney smoked on his nights out and holidays in his 20s; however, he managed to control his habit. He did this so that he could concentrate on his career and make sure he was 100% on the pitch.

3. Gianluigi Buffon

Credit: Daily Mail

Gianluigi Buffon has been seen smoking on multiple occasions, especially after his team won important games. While he was surrounded by controversy due to his decision to keep smoking while playing professional football, it never seemed to impact his game. Despite his smoking addiction, he ended his career by being one of the top goalkeepers in the world and had a long career at the top of his game.

2. Wesley Sneijder

Credit: Marca

Wesley Sneijder was snapped smoking cigarettes throughout his career. While many looked down on this, it did not stop him from being one of the most sought-after players in the world in 2010. He also explained in an interview how Jose Mourinho, Inter Milan’s manager at that time, made the decision to allow his players to drink, smoke, and have fun and how that positively impacted their morale, helping Inter Milan win their first-ever treble season years ago.

1. Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff smoking a cigarette in the locker room. 🚬 pic.twitter.com/px87dtW4ie

— Old Days Football (@OldDaysFootball) February 11, 2018

Johan Cruyff was notoriously known for his smoking habit. He was well and truly addicted to smoking and smoked 20 cigarettes a day. He also used to smoke during the breaks in ongoing matches. The smoking, however, did not seem to impact his game at all, and he ended his career as one of the best footballers in history. Cruyff finally stopped smoking after he underwent a double heart bypass surgery.

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