Elite Footballers

Ibrahimovic was born in Sweden to a Muslim father, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Catholic mother, who had also emigrated to Sweden, where the couple first met. His father was born in Bosnia, and his mother was born in Croatia. After receiving a pair of football boots, Ibrahimovic began playing at the age of six, alternating between local junior clubs Malmo BI and FBK Balkan. While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmo FF. At the age of 15, Ibrahimovic was close to quitting his football career, in favour of working at the docks in Malmo, but his manager convinced him to continue playing.

Lionel Andres Messi was born on 24 June 1987 in Rosario, the third of four children of Jorge Messi, and his wife Celia Cuccittini, who worked in a magnet manufacturing workshop. Growing up in a tight-knit, football-loving family, Leo developed a passion for the sport from an early age, playing constantly with his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, and his cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom became professional footballers. At the age of four, he joined local club Grandoli, where he was coached by his father, though his earliest influence as a player came from his grandmother on his mother’s side, Celia, who accompanied him to training and matches. He was greatly affected by her death, shortly before his eleventh birthday; since then, as a devout Catholic, he has celebrated his goals by looking up and pointing to the sky in tribute to his grandmother.

Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Sao Pedro, Funchal, and was the youngest child of Maria Aveiro, a cook, and Jose Aveiro, a municipal gardener and a part-time kit man. His second given name, Ronaldo, was chosen after then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan. He has one older brother, Hugo, and two older sisters, Elma and Liliana Catia. His great-grandmother on his father's side, Isabel da Piedade, was from Sao Vicente, Cape Verde. Ronaldo grew up in a Catholic and impoverished home, sharing a room with his brother and sisters. At age 6, Ronaldo played for amateur team Andorinha, where his father was the kit man, and later spent two years with Nacional. When he was aged 12, he went on a three-day trial with Sporting CP, who signed him up. He subsequently moved from Madeira to Lisbon, to join Sporting’s other youth players at the club’s football academy. By age 14, Ronaldo believed he had the ability to play semi-professionally, and agreed with his mother to cease his education in order to focus entirely on football.

Gareth Bale was born in Cardiff, Wales, to parents Frank, a school caretaker, and Debbie, an operations manager. He is the nephew of former Cardiff City footballer Chris Pike. It was while at this school he first came to the attention of Southampton at age nine when he was playing in a six-a-side tournament with his first club, Cardiff Civil Service Football Club. Bale attended Whitchurch High School in Cardiff. He was a keen athlete and played football alongside future Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton, rugby, hockey and excelled at athletics. As a 14-year-old he says that he ran the 100-metre sprint in 11.4 seconds. Because of his superior footballing skill, the school's PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to write special rules which restricted Bale to playing one-touch football and not using his left foot.