The footballing world has seen some of the most incredible stories over the years, from a humble beginning to riches beyond the ordinary. There have been several inspiring and emotional stories of footballers that are hard to portray in words, the stories of some of these footballers deserve something more than just a tale on text but an adaptation of their life story on the big screen. Let’s take a look at five such footballer’s who deserve their own Hollywood adaptation.
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#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan’s intense personality off the field combined with his fierceness with the ball has made the Swede a demi-god amongst football fans. Before reaching the successful stage he is in right now, Zlatan had to go through some really tough times. His childhood was particularly quite gloomy and desolate due to his parent's divorce.
A young Zlatan found it hard to deal with the separation and resorted to bullying and thieving when in school.
Ibrahimovic finally found solace through football and made it his career. Thanks to his big stature and strength, Ibrahimovic was a naturally gifted athlete and found immediate success as a footballer.
The 35-year-old has played football in more than five different countries and is adored by both the fans and the media for his wit and unique sense of humour. A Hollywood adaptation of Zlatan’s life and career will definitely set the cash registers ringing.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
Not only is he one of the best footballers in the world but also an influential figure amongst the masses. Cristiano Ronaldo’s journey from the streets of Madeira, Funchal to the Santiago Bernabeu is one for the ages.
Growing up in a tiny bedroom with two older sisters and a brother, Ronaldo’s childhood was filled with not only hardships but also happy memories. Ronaldo’s footballing talent saw him move from a small club in Funchal to Sporting Lisbon and then Manchester United and finally to Real Madrid.
The Portuguese footballer conquered many psychological as well as physical hurdles throughout his career to reach the level that he is at today. Although Ronaldo did come out with a documentary movie on his life and career in 2015, the fans would love to see a Hollywood adaptation with a big star, lot of drama and a big budget.
#3 Lionel Messi
Messi was four years old when he first kicked a ball playing with his friends in front of his house. Little did he know that he would go on to become one of the greatest footballers of this generation.
Despite growth hormone deficiency holding him back from his future, Messi out-battled his problem with the help of Barcelona to become a football icon that he is today.
The Argentine football sensation has inspired millions of football fans around the world with his magnificent tricks and skills on the pitch, but his fans have very little insight into his past and how he came to be the man he is today. A Hollywood adaptation of the little magician’s life would be a treat for every Messi fan out there where they can see the dramatic depiction of the life and career of one the greatest living footballers on earth.
#4 Rickie Lambert
At the age of 15, Rickie Lambert was given the upsetting news that he wasn’t good enough to play for Liverpool. 16 years later, Liverpool signs a 32-year-old Rickie Lambert from Southampton. Lambert’s story is proof that age is never a factor when it comes to fulfilling your ambition.
Lambert used to put lids on beetroot jars, earning £20 in the day and train with Macclesfield in the evening. Despite his financial hardships after leaving Blackpool in 2000, the Englishman never let his ambition of playing football go to ruins.
Lambert went from strength to strength after successful seasons at Stockport, Rochdale, and Bristol Rovers before making it to League One division with Southampton. The Englishman was just getting started as he fired the Saints to the English Premier League. Having scored 29 goals in the following two seasons of the Premier League, Lambert also received an England call-up at the age of 31 and went on to score his first goal for England against Scotland at Wembley.
In almost two decades of playing professional football, Lambert has achieved the unthinkable playing every division in England as well as the Champions League after he joined Liverpool in 2014. The England international’s career certainly came full circle after he joined the Merseyside club.
Rickie Lambert’s career is one those special stories in football that can relate to the lives of the working class and inspire a new generation of footballers.
#5 Jamie Vardy
From playing in front of a crowd of 2,500 in a non-league side to lifting the English Premier League trophy, Jamie Vardy’s underdog story is definitely worth a big screen adaptation. The 30-year-old’s journey to the top is nothing less than an intriguing tale of rags to riches.
Born in a working-class family in Sheffield, Vardy’s hopes of playing professional football for his local club, Sheffield Wednesday were dashed after the club let go of him at the age of 16. This, however, turned out to be a major point in his career.
Vardy took the rejection headstrong and started working on a 12-hour shift in a carbon-fibre splint factory while earning less than one could hope for in order to survive. It was a tough period for a 16-year-old who had to work young as he found a new perspective on life. But there was also an opportunity to play football once again as the job led him to play for the Stocksbridge Park Steels Football Club for seven years earning £30 a week.
Things were looking up for Vardy until a grim night outside a pub in 2007 where the forward was convicted for assault after supposedly defending one of his friends from a beat down. The Englishman was assigned to probation where he had to wear a probation tag for six months along with a curfew of 6 pm.
Despite all the restriction, Vardy still managed to impress the scouts who came to watch him play which eventually lead him to Halifax followed by Fleetwood and finally ending up at Leicester City in 2012 after being signed by the Foxes for £1.5 million.
From there on, things changed drastically for the Englishman as he featured regularly for the club and helped them earn promotion to the Premier League in 2014. After surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2014/15, Vardy achieved the unthinkable with the Foxes as he went on to lift the Premier League trophy last season while scoring 24 goals and breaking Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s record of consecutive Premier League games with a goal.
