The lives of football players and managers are very often stranger than fiction.
Throughout their high-profile careers and celebrity lives, there are dizzying highs, soul-destroying lows, and an array of intriguing and strange characters. It’s quite a splendid read for us mere mortals.
Fortunately, for those footballers looking to cash in on their anecdotes, there are ghostwriters on hand to help shape their stories before they are sent out for public consumption. When the final product hits the shelves, it reads like an action thriller.
Here are the best autobiographies on the market.
Let’s start with a storm. If there’s one man’s autobiography that promises to put readers on the edge of their seats, it’s Zlatan’s.
The maverick Swedish international details his journey as an immigrant from poverty to one of the world’s most successful and controversial footballers. Having originally been released in 2011 – and in English in 2013 – the latter chapters of Ibra’s career don’t quite make the cut, but there’s still plenty of juicy stuff to latch on to.
The autobiography is surprisingly funny and strange, but also poignant as it chronicles his rise to the top. Whether you’re a Zlatan superfan or just an intrigued viewer, this one will be hard to put down.
The phrase “national treasure” gets thrown around a lot these days, but for Wrighty, it’s an understatement. Even the fiercest Tottenham supporter will struggle not to crack a smile while watching arsenal legend about expert duty.
There is plenty of Wright’s charm and wit in his simply titled autobiography, which reveals the story of how the English football icon rose from a council estate in south London to the glitz and glamor of the elite football and television.
It’s an extraordinary tale and one that will only make readers fall in love with the beloved shooter.
From one Arsenal legend to another. Arsene Wenger spent 22 years with the Gunners and his autobiography details his managerial journey from France to Japan to North London. All four clubs he took over wore red and white, a remarkable coincidence throughout a long career.
However, it was obviously with Arsenal that Wenger made a name for himself as one of the most talented and respected managers in the world, rising from relative obscurity to superstar status. There has always been a mystique surrounding the Frenchman, but his autobiography offers a look behind the mask.
One of the most respected and iconic protagonists of Italian football, the smoothness and elegance of midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo comes through in his thoroughly engaging autobiography. With the hand of the Italian journalist Alessandro Alciato, I think, then, I play serves as Pirlo’s personal love letter to the beautiful game.
Pirlo is able to name some of football’s biggest legends, with Carlo Ancelotti, Paolo Maldini, Kakà , Clarence Seedorf and Ronaldo Nazario all earning a mention, while the 2006 World Cup winner also shares stories of their great individual and team triumphs.
Diego Maradona One of the great wizards of football.
The late Argentine was one of the game’s most fascinating characters, rising from the slums of Buenos Aires to international stardom. A national hero and a ridiculously gifted footballer, Maradona remains the greatest of all time in the minds of many who saw him play in the flesh.
However, the South American was deeply troubled off the pitch, struggling with drug abuse and health problems throughout his career and after his retirement. A larger-than-life superstar with many personal demons, his autobiography offers a unique insight into the life of an icon.
For many, Sir Alex Ferguson is the best manager the world has ever seen. leading Manchester United with unparalleled success during his 27 years at Old Trafford, the legendary Scot reveals all in his autobiography published shortly after his departure from the Red Devils in 2013.
As is well documented, Ferguson was at the heart of sensationally dramatic stories and feuds during almost three decades in Manchester, with the former Aberdeen and Scotland boss lifting the lid on an incredible career both on and off the pitch.
Jamie Vardy’s rise to England international and Premier League champion has been one of the most amazing stories in football since the beginning of the century. Leicester City’s remarkable striker has gone from earning £30 a week at Stocksbridge Park Steels while still working in a factory to being nominated for the Ballon d’Or.
Love or loathe his antics on the pitch, England’s leading liquidator has an incredible story to tell, rising from nothing to become one of the Premier League’s most remarkable performers.
Alex Scott’s memoir is much more than a story about football. Of course, it details her rise from cage football in London to the heights of women’s football and her TV career, all while the former arsenal The defender inspired women around the world both with her sporting achievements and her ability to climb the ladder in a male-dominated industry.
However, Scott’s book also reveals the difficulties of a traumatic childhood in an abusive home as she tries to heal from a harmful youth, with proceeds from her 2022 memoir going directly to the shelter charity that helps women and children affected by abuse.
Another book that is about much more than football, Paul Merson’s autobiography offers an insight into Arsenal’s troubled career and England legend The footballer-turned-expert has struggled immensely with gambling, alcohol and drug addictions and has also written a book called stuck which focuses entirely on his struggles off the field.
Merson’s autobiography explains what not to do if you’re a professional footballer, imparting wisdom from his own experiences. The “NO’s” include sharing a house with Paul Gascoigne and managing Walsall.
Pelé was one of the first football celebrities. The effortless Brazilian magician wowed audiences around the world as a teenager and his legendary status only grew as his illustrious career progressed. The forward’s international exploits saw him thrust into an unprecedented spotlight.
The late master wrote his autobiography in 2007 and it lives on as an inspiring story of one of the game’s earliest icons, told with the grace and modesty you’d expect from the brilliant Brazilian.
