10 football legends' autobiographies every fan must read

Every football fan in the world years for the chance to experience what their idols through both on and off the pitch. From glorious victories, to winning championships, to the darker times of fighting relegation, and dressing room controversies. This is then coupled with the hugely attractive glitzy lifestyle that footballers live off the pitch. Fans all over would give anything to get a taste of this.While that is sadly next to impossible, all hope isn’t lost. The closest we can get to experience that footballing life with all its highs and lows is by living it through the pages of our favourite footballer’s autobiographies. Through surprisingly frank and earnest commentaries given to us by our idols, we have the opportunity to better understand the life of a footballer and truly experience the roller-coaster ride of a life that they live.Here are the 10 footballer autobiographies that every football fan should read.

#10 Blessed: The Autobiography George Best

George Best will forever remain football’s original rock star. The Northern Irishman talks about how he was spotted by one of Matt Busby’s scouts in Northern Ireland and initially scoffed at the opportunity of joining the Red Devils.

While the first half the book deals with his playing days at Old Trafford and his eventual rise to superstardom, the second half is what makes this autobiography so special.

Best’s struggles with alcoholism were no secret to the public and in Blessed, Best elaborates on his struggles with brutal honesty. It becomes an engrossing and ultimately sad tale of how a certain kind of lifestyle took its toll on a footballer but not before establishing himself as one of the best of all time.

#9 Red Gary Neville

While Gary Neville had found a great outlet to practice his football knowledge post-retirement as a football pundit and now more recently as manager of Valencia, he also can definitely write a book.

In Red, Neville talks about the birth of his career at Manchester United where he and his brother Phil Neville were part of the famed Class of ‘92.

He recalls the camaraderie present in the dressing room among the group as teens and how in seven years they went on to win the treble under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson while also giving us a better outlook on the relationship the Scotsman had with his players and the respect he commanded.

He also throws light upon the infamous David Beckham incident amongst other dressing room controversies that occurred during his tenure at Old Trafford.

#8 Stillness and Speed Dennis Bergkamp

The former Arsenal man is nothing short of a legend to Gunners fans. And in Stillness and Speed, we learn about the life of this Premier League legend. We learn of how this enigmatic superstar first burst onto the scene as a pupil of the Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff and how after some great years at Ajax, he decided that he needed to move on.

However, there after a nightmare at Inter Milan, there were few takers for his style of play until a certain Arsene Wenger decided to sign this Dutch forward. The two would go on to make history in North London where they won seven major trophies together at Highbury.

Stillness and Speed elaborates on the sheer creative genius that Bergkamp was and what makes him one of the greatest strikers to ever grace the Premier League to this very day.

More: Stillness and Speed – Book review

#7 Captain of Hungary - Ferenc Puskas

Before Pele, there was Ferenc Puskas. The Hungarian striker was regarded as the greatest man to touch a football until a young Brazilian teenager burst onto the scene in 1958.

The book tells the story of this Hungarian legend and how he made his international debut at the mere age of 17 and how he went on to win the European Cup with Real Madrid. However, the bulk of the book deals with his exploits for the national team with an entire section of the book devoted to decoding Hungary’s tactics which made them an almost unplayable team at times.

What makes this autobiography special is that even though it was published way back in 1955, it still feels as relevant as ever and learning about Puskas’s stint as captain of the Magical Magyars is thoroughly engaging.

#6 Pele - The Autobiography

You can’t have a list of greatest football autobiographies and not include possibly the most iconic footballer of all time.

We journey through the life of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, also known as Pele, in this masterfully constructed piece of literature. Told to us in Pele’s characteristic modesty and understatedness, we learn about his struggles growing up in the Brazilian favelas where he learned the bulk of his almost unnatural talent for ball control by practicing using oranges since footballs were too expensive for him.

The book also then goes on to describe his playing days for Santos and the New York Cosmos in depth while naturally throwing light upon his immaculate international career which saw him win three World Cups with the Seleção.

#5 Keane - Roy Keane

Roy Keane will always be remembered for his tenacious work rate on the ball and his intimidating nature wherever he went. The central midfielder is widely regarded as one of the most controversial characters in football history along with being one of the best.

While Keane recently published another autobiography which made the headlines for his comments on former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, his first autobiography Keane, originally released in 2002, is more explosive. In other words – more Keane.

He illustrates his rise from a young Irish boy to captaining one of the biggest clubs in the world along with the controversies and public feuds he engaged in both on and off the pitch which resulted in him becoming a very polarizing character in football.

The reason why it makes it to this list is that it was a no-holds-barred take on one of English football’s most passionate players – rash tackles included.

More: Top 9 extracts from Roy Keane's autobiography: The Second Half

#4 El Diego - Diego Maradona

El Diego is an autobiography that one needs to read for a variety of reasons, none more so than the fact that it paints the truest picture that you will ever find on one of football’s most talented, yet deeply flawed, players of all time.

We journey through Maradona’s life in the Barrios of Argentina where all he had was the ball at his feet to his eventual attainment of almost-spiritual fan following in Naples and in his home country. From following his exploits for both club and country along the way to attaining the title of being the best of all time according to many.

However the book isn’t a rosy, superficial account like many others. It delves deep into Maradona’s difficult start to his European career and his experimentation with drugs along with weight problems leading to the eventual demise of his career.

#3 The Autobiography - Didier Drogba

The Chelsea legend certainly has led one of the most impactful lives of any human, let alone of a footballer. While we get fascinating insights into his time at Stamford Bridge, with some hilarious inputs on Jose Mourinho and the John Terry- Frank Lampard friendship at Chelsea, it is his experiences off the pitch that really make this a page-turner.

We learn of a young Drogba growing up in the streets of poverty-stricken Ivory Coast and his eventual migration to France where he pursued his footballing dream and made it to the pinnacle of sporting immortality.

What truly manages to elevate this autobiography over the hundreds that we see published every day is his description on how he has tried to make a difference in his home country of Ivory Coast where the striker has amazingly managed to use his influence on the pitch to stop a civil war in his country to establishing a hospital in his native Abidjan. All this has manifested in the Montreal Impact man being idolized in his country with an entire city and dance being named after him.

This autobiography not only gives us a great look into the life of a footballer on the pitch but the potential for true humanity off it.

More: 5 stories fans must read about in Didier Drogba's new autobiography

#2 I Think Therefore I Play - Andrea Pirlo

The holder of football’s most famous beard and all-round classy guy Andrea Pirlo has, among the numerous credits to his name, the distinction of having a thoroughly engaging and equally hilarious autobiography.

We get an insight into both facets of Pirlo – the dead-eyed assassin of a footballer on the pitch and the uncontrollable joker off the pitch. Through his long and distinguished career, Pirlo has played with some of the most talented footballers of all time from Ronaldo to Kaka and Alessandro Nesta.

While all these players all appear to be superhuman to us, Pirlo manages to paint them in a much more humane manner where we learn about their quirks and traditions such as Filippo Inzaghi’s hilarious pre-match routine.

Written in Pirlo’s characteristic nonchalance, I Think Therefore I Play is nothing short of a lesson in understated brilliance – much like the man himself.

More: Top 11 extracts from Andrea Pirlo's autobiography "I Think Therefore I Play"

#1 I Am Zlatan - Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Everybody loves Zlatan. The enigmatic Swedish talisman is nothing short of a one-man road show and brings two things wherever he decides to go – goals and pure entertainment. In this hilariously honest autobiography, the tall Swede elaborates on his tough childhood growing up in the impoverished Rosengard district of Malmo where he was steered away from stealing bicycles by his love for the game.

We learn of his rapid ascent once he made it to the Malmo team and his eventual progress into superstardom all over Europe. Being a journeyman in the truest sense of the word, Ibrahimovic has played across Europe for numerous clubs and, as a result, has played under a plethora of managers and with numerous other legendary footballers.

This lends itself into some brilliantly varied and largely controversial stories being shared in this book such as his vitriolic hatred for former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and his idolization of Jose Mourinho.

More: I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Book review