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While most footballers are adored by their fans and scorned by others, these individuals have made it difficult for anyone to hate them.
Professional football is a tricky affair. You could be a hero in one week and the villain in the next. Heck, for all you know you could start a match off scoring a goal and then concede one on the other end due to your own mistake and go from hero to villain inside the ninety minutes.
In these times of intense social media scrutiny, it's easy to kickstart narratives or even buy into them. Agendas are aplenty as football fans try to dig up dirt on their adversaries just to get the last laugh on social media. Echo chambers are formed in a matter of seconds and being a footballer could be really stressful.
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However, there are some individuals who have made it impossible to hate them by virtue of the way they conduct themselves both on the pitch and off it.
Today, we take a look at five footballers who are adored by one and all.
5 footballers who no one hates
#5 David Silva
The Manchester City legend, David Silva, is one of the most adored football players in the world and for good reason. Not only is he a serial winner and one of the finest midfielders of his generation, he has went about his business on the football field without cooking up any kind of controversies in his storied career.
El Mago, alongside Kevin De Bruyne, formed one of the deadliest midfield partnerships that the Premier League has ever seen. His passing range, creativity and quick thinking made him a player that's coveted by fans of all football clubs.
David Silva joined Manchester City when the new project was in its nascent stages and decided to stick on while most players would have wanted to move on to bigger clubs like Real Madrid or Barcelona.
The Manchester City that we see today has a lot to thank the Spaniard for as it is his contributions that laid the foundation for them to grow into one of the most intimidating forces in Europe.
David Silva was given a hero's farewell at Manchester City last summer as he finally moved back to his home country with Real Sociedad at the age of 34.
#4 Juan Mata
Juan Mata comes across as one of the nicest guys in football. Very similar in his style of play to David Silva, the Spanish veteran's career is not as trophy-laden but he will continue to be one of the most admired players in recent times at Manchester United.
Mata started winning over fans with his blog which he would update after every game and sign off by sending out virtual hugs to everyone. The soft-spoken Spaniard has given us plenty of reasons to not hate him.
Whether it be lauding rival club player Mesut Ozil up when he was going through a bad phase or helping the kit-man and his staff with the messy laundry or always being polite and gentlemanly towards his opposition players, teammates and academy players, it is hard to find a footballer nicer and more polite than Mata.
#3 Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy does not make this list for being the quintessential nice guy in the Leicester City lineup. Oh, no. He is an absolute beast on the football pitch; the kind who won't stop hassling you until his lungs are punctured.
Vardy makes the list because if you are familiar with his hustle, you wouldn't be able to hate him. Vardy's is one of the best rags-to-riches story in football in recent times. He used to play in the seventh tier of English football, taking home 30 quid a week.
Fleetwood Town signed him at the age of 24 and it was a major step up for him. Vardy started scoring goals in abundance and guided Fleetwood Town to promotion. Then Leicester City stepped in and the rest is history.
Jamie Vardy led from the front as Leicester City got promoted to the Premier League and then went on to win the Premier League in their sophomore season in the English top-flight. Vardy was the Premier League's player of the season that year.
At 34-years-old, Jamie Vardy is still keeping at it and shows no signs of slowing down. He is still leading from the front as Leicester City remain inside the top four places on the Premier League table and it's impossible to hate a player who has gone through so much and came from so little and fought and won the lot.
#2 Luka Modric
Luka Modric wasn't always one of the most adored players in the world. He was voted by his own club's fans as one of the worst signings ever made by Real Madrid in a poll. But thanks to his unquestionable quality, Luka Modric came through and became the first player to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly over the Ballon d'Or.
Modric's contributions to Real Madrid has been absolutely immense and Real Madrid fans will remain indebted to Jose Mourinho for signing him. Luka Modric was one of the standout performers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and led from the front like a true champion as Croatia finished as runners-up.
The elegance with which Luka Modric pulls strings from midfield is a treat to watch and even at the age of 35, he is still going strong.
#1 N'Golo Kante
You couldn't possibly find a single person who dislikes N'Golo Kante. The soft-spoken Frenchman has stayed humble despite winning some of the biggest prizes in football. Seen usually with a smile on his face, N'Golo Kante is one of the most admired players in the world.
The Chelsea midfielder is a workhorse on the field and has won the Premier League in back-to-back seasons with Leicester City and Chelsea. He was then one of France's best players as they won the FIFA World Cup in 2018. But none of that success has changed Kante who comes from humble beginnings.
His own teammates came up with a chant for him after they won the World Cup and there's a video of them singing it in the team bus. It's rarely that a entire groups of individuals come together to celebrate someone, particularly so in football. But N'Golo Kante is just that kind of guy.
