TODAY, footballers are major celebrities.
They are invited to A-list parties, they mingle with the jet-set and make fortunes to rival those of pop stars, actors and models.
But, they are only human.
These stars of the beautiful game have their own celebrity crushes.
From Pep Guardiola to Cristiano Ronaldo and Jack Grealish, here’s footballers’ celebrity crushes.
Pep Guardiola/Julia Roberts
The Man City boss has three idols in life, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and the Pretty Woman actress.
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And Guardiola was devastated when he found she was sloping off with the enemy seven years ago – by heading for fierce rivals Manchester United.
He said: “I am a failure in the Champions League. If I win the Champions League three times in a row I will be a failure.
“I have three idols in my life. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Julia Roberts.
“Julia Roberts years ago came to Manchester – not in the 90s when Sir Alex (Ferguson) was winning titles and titles and titles.
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“She came in the period where we were better than United, in these four or five years, right?
“And she went to visit Man United. She didn’t come to see us. That’s why even if I win the Champions League it will not compare for the fact that Julia Roberts came to Manchester and didn’t come to see us.
“Even if I win the Champions League it will not compare to this disappointment I had.”
But, Pep, who is happily married to Cristina Serra, has been reprieved after she congratulated him and his team for their Champions League success.
She tweeted: “Congratulations @pepteam for leading your team to be UCL champions. #pep #soccermom.”
Cristiano Ronaldo/Kendall Jenner
The Portuguese legend is, of course, happily settled with stunning beauty Georgina Rodriguez.
But there was a time when he was free and single and happily flirting with Kendall Jenner on Instagram.
He liked one of her sexy photos, and reportedly invited her to a Real Madrid game.
She was said to be flattered by his interest in her, but that’s as far it went.
Jack Grealish/Rihanna
When the Man City ace was playing for Aston Villa, he was quizzed by YouTube channel Stadium Astro about which celebrity he would most like to meet.
“Rihanna,” Grealish replied without hesitation. “Because she’s pretty.”
The England midfielder also confessed to liking her music as well.
Grealish has since settled down with childood sweetheart Sasha Attwood, who seems the sole object of his desires now.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek/Laura Woods
Presenter Laura Woods has a few sporting suitors.
The first to admit a crush on the talkSPORT host was Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who appeared on her show.
Woods asked him which famous person he has the hots for.
And to her shock and excitement, Loftus-Cheek joked: “Laura Woods!”.
Woods quipped back: “An exceptional answer!” before cheekily responding they would swap numbers after the call.
Later, Anthony Joshua would confess his love for Woods too, insisting that Loftus-Cheek beat him to it.
David and Victoria Beckham
David got down on one knee to propose to Victoria back in 1998.
However, before he met her he admitted that he had crushed on the Spice Girl hard.
According to reports, Becks would watch her in the video for Say You’ll Be There on a loop – declaring he would one day date the pretty brunette in the leather catsuit.
They finally met at a Man Utd game, and the rest is now history.
Beth Mead/Cheryl Tweedy
England Lioness hero Beth Mead spoke openly about first crush on Cheryl Tweedy.
Writing in her brilliant book Lioness: My Journey To Glory, the Arsenal forward wrote: “I probably should have realised that I was gay a little bit sooner than I did. I was a big Girls Aloud fan, but Cheryl was special to me.
“Back then, I thought she was just someone I looked up to, someone to be interested in outside of football. I liked her music, her clothes, her whole vibe.
“Was it a crush? Was it my sexual awakening? Was it just a phase? It’s hard to know.”
Callum Wilson/Myleene Klass
The Newcastle forward looks back at his first celebrity crush with a bit of embarrassment.
Especially since it involved queuing up to get an autograph of the singer from a beloved pop band.
“My first crush was Myleene Klass. I’m not sure why,” he revealed on The Footballer’s Football Podcast alongside West Ham’s Michail Antonio.
“It might have been something to do with Hear’Say, was she in Hear’Say? That’s probably why.
“I was listening, seeing that band around at the time.
“I actually queued up to see Hear’Say in Coventry city centre with a flag for four or five hours to see this band.
“It was a book signing event when you get to meet them at the end.
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“I got this flag signed and took it home buzzing because they’d signed it.
“I think that was on my wall above my bed.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
