Top 8 Footballers with University Degrees

Are there footballers with university degrees? Well, apart from the sport of football, a great lot of players have also pursued academic excellence. They have made the decision to go ahead and learn the workings of the world, along with following their dreams and passion of having football in their life. 

“You play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you.”

– Johan Cruyff | Dutch football player

To ace the professional game you chose to play for life, education is there to accompany you in helping sharpen your senses and make you an even more efficient player. 

It helps you grow, mentally, which further helps you to develop physically, combing the power of both to move forward in the world of football. 

Many football players chose to follow this path and went ahead to attain university degrees. Scroll through the blog to know more about top 8 footballers with university degrees!

Duncan Watmore 

The English football player is a professional who plays as a forward for the Championship club Middlesbrough. He is 28 years old and has proved his talent in football as well as academic circles. 

Degree	Economics and Business Management
University	Newcastle University: Business School
Nationality	English
Current Team	Middlesbrough

Giorgio Chiellini 

Born in Italy, Chiellini plays as a defender and does a fierce job at it. As a 38-year-old, he currently plays for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. He has made more than 100 appearances and is Italy’s joint fourth-highest appearance holder. 

Degree	Graduation and Master’s in Economics and Commerce
University	University of Turin
Nationality	Italian
Current Team	Los Angeles FC

Vincent Kompany

Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany is the former captain of Manchester City and the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. At 36 years of age, he is regarded as one of the finest defenders in football history. He was also the winner of Premier League Player of the Season in 2012. 

Degree	Masters of Business Administration
University	Alliance Manchester Business School
Nationality	Belgian
Current Team	Burnley (Manager)

Yuto Nagatomo

Nagatomo is a professional footballer and at 36 years of age, is a player for the Japanese club FC Tokyo and the Japan national team. Along with that, he has authored two books on modern economics. Moreover, with more than 130 appearances, he has been part of the squad that was the winner of the Asian Cup in 2011. He’s also highly educated as is displayed in the table below. 

Degree	Economics
University	University of Meiji
Nationality	Japanese
Current Team	FC Tokyo

Andres Iniesta

He has magnificent skills on-pitch, so much so that he was once referred to as the Barcelona magician. He has been the greatest midfielder of his time spending most of his career at Barcelona club. He was also their captain for three seasons. 

Degrees	One in Biology, and the other one in Sports Science
University	Ramon Llull University
Nationality	Spanish
Current Team	Vissel Kobe

Ceri Evans

A former football player, Evan represented his country, New Zealand, many times in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a central defender with more than 50 international appearances. Moreover, with education to his credit, he graduated in medicine with distinction from the University of Otago and even attended Oxford University. 

Degrees	Psychology
University	University of Oxford
Nationality	New Zealand
Current Team	–

Simon Mignolet

He has made his name and been known as the goalkeeper of Liverpool. Further, he is also well-versed in 5 languages: German, Dutch, English, French, and native Flemish. A Belgian football player, he now plays for Belgian First Division A club Club Brugge.

Degrees	Political Science and Law
University	University of Leuven
Nationality	Belgian
Current Team	Brugge

Juan Mata

A Spanish footballer that holds two university degrees, Mata is a midfielder who plays for the Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He has played with Real Madrid, Chelsea, as well as Manchester United. He is also the winner of the Golden Player award, having represented Spain to even Olympic level.

Degrees	Sports Science, and Marketing
University	Universidad Camilo Jose Cela
Nationality	Spanish
Current Team	Galatasaray

Those were some top 8 footballers with university degrees. But that’s not it, there are other football players such as Michael Videira, and Taylor Graham, who have had degrees in Sociology (Duke University), and International Relations (Stanford University), respectively. Footballers continue to amaze us with their ability to ace the best of both worlds.

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