Cristiano Ronaldo and Bingo, Xavi and Mushrooms: 5 footballers who have unusual hobbies

Footballers commit the majority of their time to training and playing football. But they also find time to enjoy the finer things in life and explore other interests. Just because they live a life of luxury, it doesn't mean that their hobbies are any less or more unusual than ours.

It's necessary for footballers to blow off some steam during their little breaks from the game. At the highest level, the game can be extremely demanding and the scrutiny can be hard to deal with. As such, any sort of distraction that one can passionately indulge in could become an escape from all the stress.

Everyone has hobbies. Some people's hobbies are more bizarre than others. Without further ado, let's take a look at five footballers with unusual hobbies.

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#5 Joe Allen - Chickens

Stoke City v Preston North End - Sky Bet Championship

Yes, you read that right. Joe Allan, also known as the 'Welsh Pirlo', loves chicken so much that he appeared on the cover of Chicken & Egg Magazine. This is a testament to how seriously he takes his affection towards chickens and hens.

In the feature interview with the magazine, Allen opened up about how he and his wife saved hens. He said (via The Mirror):

"Lacey was behind the decision... we both have an interest in animal welfare but she came up with the idea to save hens and I agreed it was something that would be great to do.

“We didn’t have any hens growing up but wanted to help chickens after they finished their commercial lives."

Allen also had two cockerels named Bruce and Roney and a number of hens that. The hens also have names like Meg, Leg, Silkie Steve, Kate, Silkie Steve junior, Giblets, Snowy, Nugget, Kiev, Dora, Holly, Shimmer, Shine and Chickaletta.

#4 Xavi Hernandez - Mushrooms

FC Barcelona v Club Atletico de Madrid - La Liga Santander

Xavi Hernandez is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is currently Barcelona's head coach. The Spaniard is into Mycology, the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi.

Xavi loves to go mushroom hunting and has reportedly even taken his former teammate Gerard Pique and his ex-wife Shakira with him on these trips. On Xavi's love for mushrooms, his former coach Pep Guardiola once quipped (via The Guardian):

"When he has a day off, he goes and picks setas [mushrooms] in the countryside and someone who picks mushrooms can't be a bad bloke."

#3 Petr Cech - Drumming

Chelsea v Sunderland - Premier League

Petr Cech might have seemed like a calm guy whenever he took his place between the sticks but back at his home studio, he loves to rock out. The former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper runs a YouTube channel where he regularly shows off his drumming skills.

Cech drums along to hit songs from popular rock bands like Nirvana and Foo Fighters. He claims that this hobby has in fact helped him become a better shot-stopper. Cech said (via Reuters):

“There are so many things I learn on the drums that I can use in goalkeeping as well, because the hand-eye co-ordination and the independence on each of the limbs is helpful.”

#2 David Beckham - Fencing

Soccer Aid For Unicef 2022

David Beckham is one of the most admired footballers of all time. During his heydey, he mesmerized us with his elite skills and exquisite technique. His Hollywood superstar-like looks have also earned him plenty of fans.

Beckham is one of the most popular celebrities on the planet and has plenty of high-profile friends. He is quite close to Will Smith and Tom Cruise. The 2022 Oscar Award winner Smith revealed that the three of them like sword fighting and that's what they like to do when they get together. He said (via The Mirror):

“This is his (Cruise’s) way of getting together and bonding. David and I go to his home and just do fencing.”

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - Bingo

Manchester United v Newcastle United - Premier League

Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo likes to while away his time playing Bingo. The legendary Portuguese forward took a liking to the game after joining Manchester United in 2003.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner opened up about his love for Bingo in an interview in 2008. He said (via The Daily Star):

"It can be very exciting because you can be there waiting for a long time for just the one number to make the game complete.

"Then you see one of your friends you are playing against get his lucky number before you."