5 heads of state you didn't know used to be footballers

#2 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - Turkey

Erdoğan takes a strong interest in Turkish football

After playing in his village with a ball made of paper, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan went on to excel for local amateur clubs before making the step up to semi-professional level in the 1970s with IETT Spor, a club representing the local transport authority. Erdoğan earned five titles in his seven years with the club.

He retired from football in 1981 after being ordered to shave his beard. Whilst in office, he attempted to improve the national team's form by investing heavily in new stadiums and state of the art facilities. He also continued to take to the field in exhibition matches, scoring a hattrick at a stadium opening in Istanbul.

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#1 George Weah - Liberia

George Weah (R)

George Weah was a seriously good footballer. Considered one of the greatest players to never reach the World Cup and the only African to ever win FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or, Weah played for the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Chelsea over a storied 20 year career.

But after serving in his native Liberia as a senator, Weah was elected president of the country in 2018, capitalizing on his enormous popularity as one of Africa's greatest ever footballers.

Weah has continued to play football since starting out in politics, even played internationally for Liberia whilst in office as president, appearing in a friendly match against Nigeria.