Alcohol is everywhere. Yes, including sports. You can buy it at your local store, order it at home so you can enjoy watching the game, buy it at the stadium during the game, and drinking at the pub afterwards. Ok, we know that’s the case with sports fans, but what about professional soccer players?
Do professional soccer players drink alcohol?
Professional soccer players drink alcohol, although it is not recommended. There were a lot of scandals in the news in which professional players were caught partying and drinking alcohol. Some players even admit to drinking a glass of wine after every game but these are the minority.
Ok, but how often do they drink? Which popular soccer players drink alcohol? What is the effect of drinking on the performance? What about beer? Don’t worry, we got you covered. Keep reading.
These Are 10 Popular Soccer Players Known for Drinking Alcohol
They say that in order to become a good professional soccer player you have to quit drinking alcohol. However, there are dozens of popular soccer players who are known for their drinking habits. Some of them even drink alcohol the night before a game. I know, I was also surprised when I did some research on this.
The list includes:
- Adriano
- George Best
- Artem Milevskiy
- Jamie Vardy
- Garrincha
- Paul Gascoigne
- Nicklas Bendtner
- Mario Balotelli
- Adrian Mutu
- Wayne Rooney
Adriano
This guy had absolutely everything a striker should have: technique, strength, and unbelievable shoot (those of you who played PES 2006 know exactly what I’m talking about). Adriano was a true sensation in Seria A where he was one of the most important players in Inter. He also played for Brazil’s national team in which he scored 31 goals in 51 matches. Unfortunately, he found too many life temptations. He was known for showing up drunk at a team practice. Adriano also liked partying very often.
George Best
He was mostly known during his career at Manchester United with whom he won the European Cup in 1968. George Best was a Northern Irish superstar who also liked the frequent nightlife of Manchester. He had a lot of problems in his adulthood, especially with drinking. He even claimed he drank at halftime. George Best was also known for his stunning quote “ In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.”
Those drinking habits even made him a thief when he stole some handy bag of some woman. Alcohol addiction even forced him to continue drinking after a liver transplant in 2002. He died in November 2005 as a result of a lung infection.
Artem Milevskiy
Artem Milevskiy was a Ukrainian boy wonder who was destined to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor Andrey Shevchenko. This guy was also named the best Ukrainian footballer in 2006. Unfortunately, that never happened because he liked women and vodka far more. He continued playing football because the football salaries in Ukraine are sky-high.
Jamie Vardy
Jamie revealed his unconventional prematch routine, which includes drinking red vine out of a Lucozade bottle and a couple of cans of Red Bull. Unbelievable. He says that helps him to „run around like a nutjob“. In 2015, Vardy decided to drink a glass of wine on the eve of every game. From then, this ritual continued up to this day. He says that it helps him to relax and sleep better the night before a game. This guy scored 24 league goals as Leicester City won the Premier League title couple of seasons ago.
Garrincha
Before Pele, Garrincha was often considered the greatest soccer player ever. He won two World Cup with Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Unfortunately, most of his life passed by on alcohol and women. His dad was also an alcoholic so we know where that came from. He was involved in many cars crashes caused by drinking. He died from liver disease in 1983, leaving 14 children.
Paul Gascoigne
He was considered to be one of the most naturally talented English soccer player of his generation. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to say no to alcohol addiction. This addiction led him to become one of the drunkest football players of all time, something that no player wants to be associated with. Except for drinking, he was also known for possession of cocaine.
Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner is the type of player whose career was destroyed by one event. One night, after he watched the Arsenal game and drank a couple of rounds at the bar, he decided to take a cab back to his house. The drunk player assaulted the cab driver. The driver said that he locked the doors and windows, but Nicklas was out by the side and began to unbutton his pants.
Mario Balotelli
Known for his extravagant haircuts and clothing is yet another professional soccer player who likes to drink, sometimes too much. One night he and his friends got so drunk that they decided to do you know what? Drive into a Women’s prison. You may ask-„But why?“ The answer was: „To see what it would be like on the inside“. Classic Mario.
Adrian Mutu
This guy also had quite a historic career. Unfortunately, it was filled with so many incidents. Not only that he liked to drink alcohol, but he was also banned from using cocaine. Adrian also got caught in a fight in the restaurant over the bill. In 2010 he was banned for nine months after failing the second drug test of his career.
Wayne Rooney
Maybe his rosy cheeks have their origins. He was often spotted enjoying drinks with his friends. There was one time when he was seen with Bastian Schweinsteiger at a hotel in Florida, drinking red wine and talking until late at night. He even got arrested for being drunk at Washington airport.
How Often Do Professional Footballers Drink Alcohol?
As you already know, professional soccer players are known for their relationship with alcohol. Well, the funny thing is that the majority of these players from the list have either played or still play in Premier League. I suspend this may be because as players get older and wiser, they tend to become teetotal to prolong their professional careers. However, in a country where alcohol is a rite of passage for many teenagers, why should we expect young players to be any different?
Some professional soccer players tend to drink alcohol once or twice per week whereas others drink only once per month or don’t drink at all. Typically, the higher the level of the player, the less frequently he drinks. They typically drink a couple of days before the match, not the night before.
This data was extracted from researching dozens of players’ autobiographies and articles. For example, Jamie Carragher said that he never kept alcohol in his house. This was his way of reducing alcohol intake as a professional player. However, when he did drink, he had the mentality to go hard or go home. It was either no alcohol or a skin-full.
Is Beer Good for Professional Soccer Players?
If you ever played soccer, especially in the summertime, you know there is nothing better than chilling with friends and drinking a cold beer after the game. I bet that professional players think the same. But the question is whether is it good for recovery. The story goes like this. Unlike other drinks, beer contains carbs and electrolytes, therefore beer is good. What people often forget is that beer also contains alcohol, which throws carbs and electrolytes out of the window.
Beer is not good nor recommended for professional soccer players. Although it contains good stuff, like carbs and electrolytes, it also has alcohol, which is detrimental to athletic performance as it causes dehydration. Beer also disrupts sleeping patterns which is not something that any player wants.
However, there is an interesting story that happened during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Namely, Fabio Capello completely abandoned the strict regime he would place on his players usually. Instead, he allowed the whole team a beer to calm their nerves. The result was a 1-0 in which England took the win which led them to advance to the knockout phase.
Note that this story doesn’t dismiss dozens of research done on alcohol’s effects on athletic performance. Alcohol still acts as a diuretic, which always leads to dehydration to some level. No footballer wants that. Alcohol also increases blood flow to injured areas, which causes further problems with swelling and other complications.
The primary thing beer does after a game acts as a pain reliever, which can lead to poor decision-making. After a couple of beers, you may say-„Oh, it feels fine, there is no pain!“ Don’t get caught up with this trap. And finally, beer or any other alcoholic drink reduces protein synthesis. This means that it reduces the player’s ability to build muscle. Again, bad news.
To find out what pro soccer players really do the day before a game, make sure to read What Do Professional Soccer Players Do the Day Before a Game?
Conclusion
As you can see, surprisingly a lot of professional soccers have drunk and still drink alcohol. This includes football legends like George Best, Garrincha, Adriano, and Wayne Rooney among many others. From dozens of research, we know that alcohol doesn’t do anything positive to soccer players except help them fall asleep faster. However, it still reduces the quality of sleep.
I would finish this article with the famous answer of running legend, Jim Fixx where he was asked whether alcohol was good for athletes. The answer was: “Sure if it’s the other guy drinking it.”
I will leave you with that.
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