NOT content with being part of a team on the pitch, many football players have chosen to create their own squad at home as well.
Manchester City star Phil Foden is expecting his third child with girlfriend Rebecca Cooke at just 23 years old – meaning there’s plenty of time to build up to a full 11.
The midfielder and his childhood sweetheart celebrated the exciting announcement with a lavish baby shower this week as they prepare for their new arrival.
Foden and Rebecca, 22, posed for a cute snap with their two kids Ronnie, four, and True, one, in hand.
At this rate, Foden is likely to be following in the footsteps of Man City teammate Kyle Walker – who recently welcomed his sixth child.
And it’s not unusual for footie stars to have a lot of children, as we reveal the players with the biggest broods…
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Kyle Walker – six kids
Kyle Walker welcomed his fourth child with estranged wife Annie Kilner earlier this month – and was said to be over the moon about becoming a father again.
The couple, who also share three sons Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, and Reign, five, split in January after two years of marriage.
It came after influencer Lauryn Goodman revealed her son Kairo, four, and eight-month-old daughter are both Walker’s children.
Earlier this month, we revealed Lauryn is taking their two kids to the Euros — where the England ace’s ex-wife and four boys will also support him.
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Lauryn told a pal: “I am determined my children will get to see their daddy playing for the Three Lions this summer.”
She told pals he invited them to Germany in June and she is determined to go.
A source says Walker told Lauryn: “I want you there. And I want Kairo there to see me play.”
But a source close to Walker insisted he had not invited her.
Cristiano Ronaldo – six kids
Cristiano Ronaldo – who named his CR7 fashion brand after his initials and his football shirt number – also confessed he wanted to have seven children because it is his “magic number”
To date, the former Manchester United star has had six children – although, in April 2022, he tragically lost one of his sons shortly after he was born.
His eldest son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, 13, was born in the United States and brought up by Ronaldo.
His mother has never been named.
In June 2017, not long after he’d begun dating model Georgina Rodriguez, it was revealed that Ronaldo had fathered twins, Eva and Matteo, now six, via a surrogate mother in the United States.
The following month, Ronaldo confirmed he and Georgina were expecting a baby, who was born in November 2017, named Alana Martina.
On April 18 2022, the couple sadly announced Georgina had given birth to twins but one had died, while daughter Bella survived.
They said in a statement: “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away.
“It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel.
“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness.
“Baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”
Ian Wright – eight kids
Ian Wright has eight kids by four different women, and was just 19 when he first became a dad, adopting girlfriend Sharon Phillips’ son Shaun, 42, who went on to play football for Chelsea and Man City.
“I didn’t have a job, and no means, but I took him on because it was the right thing to do,” he told The Mirror.
Ian went on to have two more children with Sharon – Bradley, 39, and Brett, 38 – making Ian a father of three by the time he was 21.
A year after welcoming Brett, Ian and Sharon broke up, as he reconnected with a childhood friend named Debbie, who grew up down the road from him.
They had a luxury wedding in Mauritius in 1993, before welcoming their first son together, Stacey, the following year.
Three years later, Debbie kicked Ian out of the house when she learned he’d been having an affair – but took him back soon after, and they had daughter Bobbi-Lee.
But in 2008, Debbie revealed Ian had been unfaithful again, and had fathered another child during a fling, a daughter named Coco, born in 2006.
“I support her but play no other part in her or her mother’s life,” Ian confessed in his autobiography, A Life In Football.
Ian went on to marry his second wife Nancy Hallam – who he met in a pub – in 2011, and has called her his “perfect woman”.
They have two daughters together, Lola and Roxanne, who he says he “can’t stand to be apart from”.
In his book, Ian says: “I didn’t set out for it to be like that. I wanted to get married just once and never planned to have so many children in so many different circumstances.”
Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha – 11 kids
Former Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos, 51, has 11 children with seven different women – and has one grandchild, Pedro, seven, who’s older than some of his aunts and uncles.
Pedro is the child of the former Real Madrid player’s second daughter, Giovanna, 27.
Including Giovanna, Carlos has three children with his first wife Alexandra Pinheiro – the other two are Roberta and Roberto Carlos Jr, who’s adopted.
He also has four children with his current wife, Mariana Luccon – Manuela, 14, Marina, seven, and two younger ones.
He also has four sons – Carlos Eduardo, Christopher, Junior and Luca – all from other relationships.
In 2018, Carlos told a Brazilian radio station he was suffering because he was unable to see some of his children.
According to BeSoccer, three of his former partners took legal action against him after this, accusing him of lying and not attending to the needs of their children.
Brazilian Barbara Thurler filed for neglect after not receiving alimony for his two children.
She even alleged he had attempted to put his two children on the streets despite their young age, adding: ”My son asks me if his father has died.”
Barbara’s pleas encouraged Hungarian Alexandra Phaedra to come forward too.
Then Dora Robles, from Mexico, also claimed not to have received the child support stipulated by the judge.
The three claimed that Carlos neglected his children on more than one occasion.
Carlos denied the accusations and reiterated that the lack of contact with his kids was due to the distance between countries and a bad relationship with their mothers.
However he agreed to meet financial deadlines eventually.
Pele – seven kids
He died at the end of 2022, at the age of 82, but Brazilian legend Pele had a lot of children in his lifetime.
In his Netflix documentary, the football icon – who was married three times – even confessed to not knowing how many children he fathered due to the number of affairs he had.
Pele married his first wife, Rosemeri dos Reis Cholbi, in February 1996 and the pair had three children – Kelly, Edinho and Jennifer.
However, after splitting up with Rosemeri, the goal-scoring machine had a fling with his housekeeper Anizia Machado which led to the birth of his daughter Sandra Machado in 1993.
He refused to take a DNA test, leaving Sandra no choice but to file a lawsuit to be recognised as his daughter as well as publishing a book entitled The Daughter Pele Never Wanted.
Pele lost the lawsuit as DNA evidence showed that Sandra was his biological daughter.
Four years later, Pele had another daughter, Flavia Kurtz with journalist Lenita Kurtz.
In 1994, Pele married his second wife, psychologist and gospel singer, Assaria Lemos Seixas and the couple had twins Joshua and Celeste.
Pele never had children with his third wife, Marcia Cibele Aoki, who he married in 2016.
Diego Maradona – Between five and 11 kids
Not long before Diego Maradona died in 2020, one of his daughters, Giannina, joked the Argentine could make up a full starting eleven with his brood.
The football star accepted two sons and three daughters were his, but is alleged to have at least six other children from various flings and some have previously appealed for their dad’s love.
Maradona accepted his two daughters with ex-wife Claudia Villafane – Dalma and Gianinna – along with his son Diego Fernando who he had with girlfriend Veronica Ojeda.
He also had flings with bar worker Valeria Sablalin, who gave birth to daughter Jana Maradona, and Italian Cristinia Sinagra, with whom he had son Diego Sinagra.
But Santiago Lara and Magali Gil also made appeals in the media to the football legend and both were said to have been trying to get a DNA test before he died.
The star is also alleged to have fathered up to four children while he was living in Cuba, three of whom have been named as Joana, Lu and Javielito.
Garrincha – At least 14 kids
Garrincha was regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever, before he tragically drank himself into an early grave in 1983, at the age of 49.
But he had a very scandalous lifestyle off the pitch, and is believed to have fathered at least 14 children.
He had eight daughters with his first wife Nair Marques who he was married to from 1952 to 1965.
Garrincha then married samba singer Elza Soares, after a scandalous affair but they separated in 1977, after he hit her during an argument.
With his colourful lifestyle, Garrincha had many more affairs, including one with showgirl Angelita Martinez and it’s thought he fathered at least six more children on top of his eight legitimate daughters.
Antoine Greizman – three kids born on same day
While it’s not unusual to have three children, Barcelona football star Antoine Greizmann welcomed all of his on exactly the same date over five years.
The World Cup winning striker’s daughter Alba was born on April 8, 2021.
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Meanwhile, his daughter Mia was born on the same date in 2016, and son Amaro, was born on April 8 2019.
Now THAT’S a hat trick!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
