Top 10 Most Educated Footballers in the World

Against the belief, focusing on more than one field will ruin your concentration on one of them to be successful, here, we have presented a list of most educated football players of all time whose career histories have been rich. During the article, you will read about the football players who have pursued their education besides their brilliant appearance in football. 

Although education may seem trivial, it is very effective that Johan Cruyff, the Dutch football legend, has claimed, "You play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you." Contrary to the apparent meaning of his word, which is more about the competitions on the field, it conveys more. 

The retirement age in this profession is fewer than the others. Most footballers announced their retirement from this short-lived career at around 35, which afterward caused them to turn towards plunging into punditry, or in better cases coaching to keep in touch with football. 

Starting football as a professional career while players are so young deprives them of continuing academic education after school. However, some players amongst the all continued their studying to fulfill a certain degree of studying.

In the following section of the top 10 most talented and educated footballers, you will read a list of stars of the football world who completed their studies in different streams. Join us till the end of the article to know these successful people in football and academic education. 

Most Educated Footballers in the World

As we mentioned earlier, the most educated football players from Europe are the topic of the following article. So, without more ado, let's take a look at the top 10 of these educated footballers. 

Fikayo Tomori

• Age: 23

• Nationality: Canadian

• Current Team: Milan

• Education: Business Management

We have started the list of top 10 most educated footballers in the world with

, an English professional footballer who currently plays as a center-back for Milan, a Serie A club, and the England national team. Thierry Henry has always been an idol for him.

To know how successful he has been since 2016 that he has begun his senior career with 

, till now that he is a player of Milan, it is better to take a look at the list of his achieved honors. For example, Chelsea Goal of the Year, Chelsea Academy Player of the Year, and Derby County Player of the Year in 2018-19. Fikayo's performance had made him a player, which football fans recall as a big thing in football. 

However, as his plan of life shows, the influential defender has another purpose apart from football, education. During the period he played for the Blues in 2019, Fikayo enrolled for a business management degree with the Open University to set an option in advance for the situation that football does not work out as a profession for him. 

Romelu Lukaku

• Age: 28

• Nationality: Belgian

• Current Team: Inter Milan

• Education: Public Relations

One of the other members of the 

top 10 most educated footballers in the world

is

. Since 2009 that he has started his senior career, Lukaku has played for several outstanding clubs, including Anderlecht, Chelsea,

, Manchester United, and Inter Milan, that the latter is his current team.

Additionally, he played for West Bromwich Albion on loan. Based on his career statistics, Lukaku has participated in 508 matches with 251 goals for the club and 98 games and 64 scored goals for the Belgian national team. However, that is not the whole about him, and there are a lot behind what meets the eye.

Speaking fluently in various languages, English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, French, and Congolese, Lukaku, the 27-year-old striker, holds a graduate degree in Public Relations. Whether due to setting another option but football or tending to study, he has followed education. 

Simon Mignolet

• Age: 33

• Nationality: Belgian

• Current Team: Club Brugge

• Education: Political Science and Law

We have allocated the following section of the top 10 most educated footballers in the world to the Belgian 33-year-old goalkeeper, Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet. The current goalkeeper of Club Brugge, the Belgian club, and the Belgium national team.

The Belgian Second Division, Sint-Truiden, was the first team, which

spent six years there, and meanwhile, appeared in 100 senior league matches and netted one time. His second side was

that through three years, Mignolet played in 101 competitions and then joined

. Mignolet's playing in his country's national team has been as well as the clubs.

Representing all levels of his country's national team, Mignolet made the senior debut in 2011. The honors which he has achieved as a player prove that he has succeeded in his career. However, it has not been his only goal. He studied at the University of Leuven and has a degree in Political Science and Law, which via it he has become one of the most educated footballers in the world.

Mignolet can speak five languages fluently, including German, Dutch, English, French, and native Flemish. As he mentioned in an interview in 2013, his parents' advice helped him reach his current position. Mignolet said, "When I started playing, my parents told me to go to university.

They just said choose wisely and find something you can combine with training. It was not because of an interest in politics. It was to have something behind me in case something went wrong."

Juan Mata

• Age: 33

• Nationality: Spanish

• Current Team: Manchester United

• Education: Sport Science and Marketing

Juan Mata, the Spanish professional footballer, is a graduate of Real Madrid's youth academy and began his senior career in the 2006-07 season with Real Madrid Castilla. Though it was his first season, through the 39 appearances, he scored ten goals. Having played Valencia and Chelsea, Mata moved to

in 2014. 

However, football is not the only thing he has allocated his time to it. Mata and his father were some owners of a Spanish restaurant in Manchester City center that the COVID-19 caused them to close. 

Another thing which Mata has allocated his time is education. He holds two bachelor's degrees, Sport Science and Marketing, from Universidad Camilo Jose Cela in Madrid, which he earned while he was a player of

and Chelsea.

Though coaching is one of the Spaniard's interests to follow after retirement as a player, he has introduced pursuing psychology as the other option he likes continuing. There is no wonder why we have placed his name amongst the 

top 10 most educated footballers in the world

, a maestro not only on the pitch but off. 

Andres Iniesta

• Age: 37

• Nationality: Spanish

• Current Team: Vissel Kobe

• Education: Biology- Sports Science

This section is about a Spanish player of

, whose name is well-known for football fans, especially the Spanish ones, who follow Spain's national team.

has a rich career history full of various honors, including La Liga Best Spanish Player in 2009, La Liga Best Midfielder five times, UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, and IFFHS World's Best Playmaker.

However, these are a short number of the whole awards he has achieved during his 20-year-old career history. Appearing as a player in

, Barcelona, and Vissel Kobe have earned him 80 scored goals during participating in 813 competitions. 

We have placed Andres on the list of the top 10 most educated footballers in the world because he has a double degree, one of them is in Biology, and the other one is in Sports Science. That is why most recall Andres as not only a legend on the pitch but a scholar out of it. Now, it is clear that why he is not less than a myth in Spain and Catalonia.  

Yuto Nagatomo

• Age: 34

• Nationality: Japanese

• Current Team:  Olympique de Marseille

• Education: Economics

In this part, we have placed a Japanese professional footballer, whose current team is Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille. Having appeared at J.League Cup as Special Designed Youth Player in 2007,

signed the first contract of his senior career with 

.

Through the four years with the club, Nagatomo appeared in 84 appearances and netted six times. Afterward, he played for Cesena that though at first signed an on-loan contract with them, his excellent performance earned him a full one. However, without making any league appearances, he joined Internazionale on loan.

After seven years playing for the side, he moved to Galatasaray and then joined 

, his current team. Nagatomo's intelligence, which has featured him for various decorated clubs, has not worked only on the pitch. He is a successful person and purposeful out of football too. 

Nagatomo's name is not only amongst successful players but one of the 

top 10 most talented and educated footballers

. The 34-year-old Japanese footballer studied at the University of Meiji and nowadays holds a degree in economics. However, the diligent and studious player has done something more. Nagatomo is the author of two books regarding modern economics. 

Frank Lampard

• Age: 43

• Nationality: British-English

• Current Team: Retired (as a player)

• Education: 11 GCSEs (Brentwood School)

This section is about the legendary man of Chelsea, who once was a member of England's Golden Generation, Frank Lampard. Winning three Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and two England Player of the Year speak for themselves that why Lampard is one of the best midfielders across Europe in his days.

Being placed in the top 0.5% of the whole world population via his high-level IQ, Lampard is one of the 

most educated football players

from Europe. He finished his education in the Brentwood School in Essex with 11 GCSEs, including an A grade in Latin.

Regarded as one of the rare brilliant minds in football,

made a rich career history for himself through appearing in 

, Swansea City, Chelsea, Manchester City, and

. After his retirement as a player, through serving as a team captain on the ITV sport panel show, Play to the Whistle, he kept in touch with sports between 2015 and 2017.

One year later, Lampard started his coaching career and led his team, Derby Country, to the final of that season's Championship play-offs. However, it did not last for a long time, and after only one season, he became Chelsea's head coach.

Duncan Watmore

• Age: 27

• Nationality: English

• Current Team: Middlesbrough

• Education: Economics and Business Management

Duncan Watmore is one of the other members of the

top 10 most educated footballers in the world

. He is 27 and currently plays as a winger for Middlesbrough. Watmore began his career with Altrincham in 2011, and during the nine years, he has achieved many honors.

Duncan Watmore is one of only two Premier League players who could gain a first-class honors degree. However, it is not his only achievement.

has achieved many other ones, including Altrincham Player of the Year in 2012-13, Sunderland Supporter's Young Player of the Year in 2015-16, and EFL Championship Player of the Month in December 2020. 

, the Rangers forward, likened Watmore to

in 2015 because he had found Watmore excellent at ball control, like how Bale does. Football is not Watmore's only plan which takes up all of his time. He has explained, "Football is a very short-term career, and I always have my eye on what I want to do next, and I thought studying and having a university degree could help."

Following his belief, Watmore graduated from Newcastle University Business School with a degree in Economics and Business Management. He kept studying by enrolling for a two-year Master's course in International Leadership, Business, and Management. 

Vincent Kompany

• Age: 35

• Nationality: Belgian

• Current Team: Anderlecht

• Education: Business Administration

Vincent Kompany, the Belgian former professional footballer who has kept studying, has allocated one place amongst the top 10 most educated footballers in the world to himself. Kompany spent his youth career with the Anderlecht youth system and began his senior one with the same club in 2003.

During three seasons with them, Kompany scored five goals in 73 competitions and then joined 

. Transfering to Premier League Manchester City provided him the situation in which he could show his brilliant performance and become an integral part of the team and one of the league's best center backs.

Though currently, he plays for

, Kompany has a particular place amongst the Man City's fans. Besides much respect that Kompany receives, as a four-time Premier League winner, he has gained much admiration out of the pitch due to his appearance in academic affairs.

Fulfilling the graduation from Alliance Manchester Business School, Vincent Kompany holds a Master's in Business Administration. Following his educational effort, in 2019, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester. Nowadays, in which Kompany is the manager of Anderlecht, his boyhood club, he has placed himself amongst the highly-educated in the industry. 

Giorgio Chiellini

• Age: 36

• Nationality: Italian

• Current Team: Juventus

• Education: Economics and Commerce

The football player that we have placed first amongst the top 10 most educated footballers in the world is

. The Italian defender and the captain of Serie A club Juventus and the Italy national team is famous as one of the fiercest ones in the football world.

Though he started his career as a defensive-minded left-back, his height, aerial prowess, athleticism, and strength abled him to play with aggressive, courageous, physical, and hard-tackling style as a center-back. The possible unknown fact about the Italy and

legend is that he is not intelligent only on the pitch as a player but off the field.

The owner of nine-time Serie A winner studied at the University of Turin and graduated in economics and commerce in 2010. However, it was not his final academic effort, and after some years, he continued to gain a Master's degree in the same course. 

As an educated footballer, he described his belief to the world players' union FiFPro, "We have to encourage more football players to study and increase the number with university degrees. Because life is long."

After reading the article and got about the 

list of most educated football players of all time

, you got that appearing brilliantly in football has never been a factor to prevent footballers from studying if they are interested in doing both of them.

Within the text, we explained both dimensions of the profession and education of these top talented footballers. However, covering them in one paragraph had limited us not to mention many points. All in all, if we have missed any significant fact related to the topic, let us know via sharing it in the comment section. 

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