Diego Maradona

He is the only player in football history who set world-record contract fees twice. The first, when he was transferred to Barcelona for a then world record £5m and the second, when he was transferred to Napoli for another record fee £6.9m. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys. In his international career, playing for Argentina, he earned 91 caps and scored 34 goals.
He played in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 tournament, where he captained Argentina and led them to their victory over West Germany in the final, winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player. In that same tournament's quarterfinal round, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history, though for two different reasons. The first goal was via an unpenalized handball known as the "Hand of God", while the second goal followed a 60 m (66 yd) dribble through six England players, voted "The Goal of the Century".
Maradona is considered one of the sport's most controversial and newsworthy figures. He was suspended from football for 15 months in 1991 after failing a drug test, for cocaine, in Italy, and he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the USA after testing positive for ephedrine. After retiring from playing on his 37th birthday in 1997, he gained weight, suffered ill health and the effects of cocaine use. In 2005, a stomach stapling operation helped control his weight gain, and he overcame his cocaine addiction. His outspoken manners have sometimes put him at odds with journalists and sport executives. Although he had little managerial experience, he became head coach of the Argentina national team in November 2008, and held the job for eighteen months, until his contract expired after the 2010 World Cup.

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, (born 2 May 1975)is an English association footballer who currently plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. He has previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, A.C. Milan, as well as the England national team, for which he holds the all-time appearance record for an outfield player.
Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons,clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy, signing a five-year contract with them on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.
In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21. He was made captain from 15 November 2000 until the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, during which he played 58 times. He earned a much-publicised hundredth cap against France on 26 March 2008,and became the all-time outfield player appearance record holder on 28 March 2009 when he surpassed Bobby Moore's total of 108 caps.With 115 career appearances to date he has stated that he does not intend to retire from international football, having missed the 2010 World Cup through injury and not featuring in England manager Fabio Capello's post-World Cup plans.
Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer when taking into account salary and advertising deals.Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches.He is third in the Premier League's all time time assist provider chart, with 152 assists in 265 appearances. When joining the MLS in 2007 he was given the highest player salary in the league's history, with his playing contract with the Galaxy over the next three years being worth US$6.5m per year.
He is married to Victoria Beckham (previously Victoria Caroline Adams) and they have four children, Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven. As of 2009, the couple's joint wealth is estimated at £125 million.

Gerard Piqué

A product of Barça's cantera, he initially left the club for Manchester United in 2004, where he remained for four years, before returning to Barça under Josep Guardiola's leadership, helping the club become the first football club ever to complete The Sextuple. Piqué is one of four players to have won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row with different teams, the others being Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.
Piqué has also represented the Spanish national team, making his debut on 11 February 2009. He played an integral role in the Spain team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Piqué made his debut for Manchester United in October 2004, as a late replacement for John O'Shea in a 3–0 League Cup victory at Crewe Alexandra as a centre back. He made his full debut on 29 March 2006 against West Ham United, in a Premier League match at Old Trafford, playing at right back, as Gary Neville was unavailable through injury.
He played against his former club Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League Final on 27 May, which Barcelona won 2–0, hence completing a historic treble. On 26 February 2010, Pique signed a contract extension that will keep him at FC Barcelona until at least the summer of 2015. On 28 April 2010, Piqué scored in Barcelona's semi-final second leg against Internazionale, scoring the only Barcelona goal of the game. Barcelona lost 3–2 on aggregate^.
On 2 April 2011, Piqué scored the winning goal in an away La Liga match against Villarreal CF, which saw Barcelona win 1–0, and hence continue on top of the table for the 17th consecutive week, with an 8-point difference than second-place, longtime rivals, Real Madrid.

Steven Gerrard

Gerrard is best known for his tremendous long-range striking ability and has scored in numerous cup finals, including the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final and the 2006 FA Cup Final.
Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his début in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in the 2000–01 season, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cup wins, two League Cup wins, a UEFA Cup win, and a UEFA Champions League win in 2005. In 2005, Gerrard came third in the voting for Ballon d'Or, given to the top player in Europe.
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000 and has represented England at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, as well as the 2006 World Cup, where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals. Gerrard is the current vice-captain of the England national football team. However, he captained his country at the 2010 World Cup in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand who missed the tournament through injury.
Gerrard is widely regarded as one of the greatest English footballers ever. Gerrard came second only to Kenny Dalglish in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop, a Liverpool F.C. fan poll. Zinedine Zidane said in 2009 that he considers Gerrard one of the best footballers in the world.In 2010, The Guardian named Gerrard to their World XI team, which compiled the greatest footballers of all-time onto one squad.

Nani

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986), commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer currently playing as a winger for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the Portugal national team. Although predominantly right-footed, he has been utilised on the left-wing on many occasions.
Nani was born in Cape Verde and emigrated to Europe with his family at an early age. He was raised in Portugal and began his football career playing for local side Real Massamá. At the age of 16, he began training with Sporting Clube de Portugal and S.L. Benfica on alternate days, eventually joining Sporting's youth squad after they offered him pre-season training. In 2005, he made his professional debut with the club and won the Portuguese Cup during his second season with them. Nani was named the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007 and his performances with Sporting culminated into a move to English club side Manchester United in July 2007 for a fee of €25.5 million. Nani won the Community Shield on his competitive debut at the club and has since added a number of trophies which included the Premier League and Champions League during his debut season at the club. He has established himself as first-choice winger at Manchester United and has won a further Premier League title, the Football League Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and three Community Shield titles. Individually, Nani has been included into the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year on one occasion and was a nominee for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2011.
Nani is also a Portugal international. Prior to playing at senior level, he played at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in September 2006 in a friendly match against Denmark and scored his first international goal during the 4–2 defeat in Copenhagen. Since his debut, he has made 51 appearances and scored 12 goals for Portugal.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. He is occasionally utilised in a deeper playmaking role.
Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003 becoming the youngest player to represent England (a record later broken by Theo Walcott.) He is England's youngest ever goalscorer.He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the competition's youngest goalscorer. Rooney featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and is widely regarded as his country's best player.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} He has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of September 2011, he has won 73 international caps and scored 28 goals.Along with David Beckham, Rooney is the most red carded player for England, having been sent off twice.
Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. The same year, Rooney acquired the nickname Wazza.Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League four times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups. He also holds two runner-up medals from both the Premier League and the Champions League. In August of the 2011–12 season Rooney scored his 150th goal, becoming United's highest goalscorer since the inception of the Premier League.

Rooney started the season with a goal in the first league game at The  Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion. Rooney played a cute one-two with Ashley Young before a sharp turn and finish from outside the box which found the bottom corner of the goal. He also scored in the second game of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur, when he headed in a Ryan Giggs cross late in the game.In late August, Rooney scored his 150th goal for United, the first of a hat-trick, helping to demolish Arsenal 8–2. Rooney won man of the match, scoring two free kicks, a penalty, and also contributing an assist for Nani.

Filippo Inzaghi

Inzaghi became the first striker to score in all international club competitions open to European teams after his double against Boca Juniors during the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2007.
Filippo Inzaghi is currently the second all time most prolific goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals only beaten by Raúl's 74 goals. He is also Milan's top international goal scorer in the club's history with 43 goals. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in Serie A (10), and the UEFA Champions League (three – tied with Michael Owen).

Despite a very good tally of 89 goals in 165 games for the Bianconeri, Inzaghi was soon benched in favour of David Trézéguet, and later signed for A.C. Milan for reported 70 billion Italian Lire, or 45 million lire cash plus Cristian Zenoni.^{[citation needed][3]} (Sky Sports reported a smaller total figure, £17M for the 2001–02 campaign by coach Fatih Terim. Juventus announced that the sale of Inzaghi produced a net profit of €31M to the club.However, Inzaghi suffered a knee injury and missed the first half of the season. Upon his return, he was able to forge a strong goalscoring partnership with Andriy Shevchenko, and he soon racked up an impressive trophy count with the Rossoneri, among them the 2002–03 Champions League (in which Milan defeated his previous team, Juventus, in the final on penalties), along with the 2003 Coppa Italia and the 2003–04 Scudetto. In the 2002–03 Champions League campaign he scored his record third Champions League hat-trick against Deportivo La Coruna in the Group stage and decisive goal in quarter-finals against Ajax, totalling 12 European goals in that season. In November 2004, he signed a contract extension.

Andrés Iniesta

Iniesta came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut in 2002, aged 18. He began playing regularly during the 2004–05 season, and has remained in the side ever since. He was an integral part of the sextuple-winning Barcelona side in 2009, the only time which a club has achieved six titles in a year.
Iniesta played for Spain at Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 levels, before making his international debut in 2006. He was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, playing one game, as Spain went out in the second round. He helped Spain qualify for Euro 2008, and played an important role in the side as they went on to win the competition, playing every game and being selected in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Iniesta was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was a key member of the victorious Spanish side; he scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands, also being named Man of the Match, and was selected in the tournament's All-Star Team. He was also the Man of the Match for two other World Cup games.

Andrés started the 2011–12 season by scoring the opening goal in the second leg of the Supercopa de España against rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona went on to win the match 3–2 and the cup on agg. 5–4.

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Alberto Tévez (born Carlos Alberto Martínez on 5 February 1984) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for English club Manchester City. He has previously played for Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United and Manchester United. He transferred to Manchester City from United in the 2009 summer transfer window, becoming the first player to move between the two rival clubs since Terry Cooke in 1999. His energy and goal scoring rate has since made him an indispensable player for the club in the eyes of fellow playersand media alike.
His importance was marked by promotion to captain at the beginning of the 2010–11 season by manager Roberto Mancini.In 2011, Tévez sought a transfer away from Manchester citing family reasons and Sergio Agüero was drafted in as a replacement. However he remains a City player after his family moved back to Manchester with manager Roberto Mancini believing Tévez will stay for the foreseeable future.His career has been dogged by a long-standing relationship with Media Sports Investments, the company which owned the rights of Tévez,and several other players and coaches.This eventually resulted in West Ham United being fined over issues regarding third-party ownership. He has made 59 appearances for the Argentina national team, scoring 13 goals.

After protracted negotiations, Tévez signed a five-year contract with Manchester United's cross-town rivals, Manchester City, after a medical on 14 July 2009. On 12 September, it was claimed that the transfer fee was £47 million, a British transfer record,but this was later denied by both Manchester City and Media Sports Investments. Tévez was given the number 32 shirt, just as he was at Manchester United and West Ham.

Ibrahimovic

Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. Years later, he signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A, benefiting from his strike partnership with David Trezeguet. In 2006, he signed with league rival Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Oscar del Calcio, the Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona for €69 million, the second highest transfer fee in football history. His time at Barcelona was short lived however; moving back to Serie A football with Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world and cost the Italian club a confirmed €24 million, more than €50 million less than what Barcelona paid for his services just one year prior.

After Maxwell completed his transfer to FC Barcelona, president Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Internazionale for Ibrahimović to join the club in exchange for Samuel Eto'o, plus a fee. Laporta revealed that the negotiations started when he decided to divert a flight, which was originally from Ukraine to Spain, in order to have talks with Massimo Moratti, the president of Internazionale, in Milan.


On 28 August 2010, Milan announced on their official website that they had acquired the services of Ibrahimović for the 2010–11 season. He was loaned out to Milan for the 2010–11 season, with Milan having the option to purchase him outright from Barcelona for €24 million at the end of the season.

Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma

Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo roˈðɾiɣeθ leˈðezma]; born 28 July 1987), commonly known as Pedro or Pedrito, is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, as a forward or winger.
Pedro usually plays the ball with his left foot but is actually right-footed. He can play on either side of the pitch, and even fit in as a target man. He is excellent at finding the right position and has a strong shot that is most noticeable from long range.
During the 2009–10 season at his main club, FC Barcelona, Pedro became the first player in history to score in six different official competitions in one season.

Pedro was a key player for Barça's reserve team, as it achieved promotion from Tercera División, making 37 appearances and scoring seven goals.On 12 January 2008, he made his debuts for the first team, playing one minute in a 4–0 home win against Real Murcia, but would only amass seven more in his first two seasons combined.
Pedro was a part of the first team's 2008–09 pre-season, and showed early promise, scoring against Hibernian and the New York Red Bulls respectively.On August 13, he started – later being substituted by Yaya Touré – in a 4–0 win against Polish side Wisła Kraków, for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. His first match on the group stage of that competition was on 16 September, when he replaced Thierry Henry in a 3–1 home win over Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Xavi

Xavier Hernández i Creus (born 25 January 1980), commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʃaβi]), is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career.

Xavi came through La Masia, the Barcelona youth academy, at the age of 11. He made his first-team debut in 18 August 1998. Since then he playeed 665 matches, scored 70 goals and made more than 150 assists for above 40 players. He was an integral part of the sextuple-winning Barcelona side in 2009, the only time which a club has achieved six titles in a year.

He has been capped 107 times for the Spanish national team, with whom he won UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. He was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA at UEFA Euro 2008.

Xavi played for Spain at the young levels, before making his international debut in 2000.

He received five Ballon d'Or nominations, and finished on third place in 2009, 2010 and 2011 (in all these years, his colleague, Lionel Messi was the winner). He won the World Soccer Player of the Year in 2010, especially for his performance with Spain national team at the World Cup 2010.Xavi began the 2011-12 season in fine goalscoring form and seemed to grow in his influence of the team despite the long anticipated return of Cesc Fàbregas and the promotion of Thiago Alcântara to create added competition for places in Barca's star-studded midfield.

Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980 in Porto Alegre), commonly known as Ronaldinho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁonawˈdʒĩɲu]) or Ronaldinho Gaúcho,is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year. He won the award in both 2004 and 2005.

"Ronaldinho," the diminutive and term of endearment for "Ronaldo," is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaúcho," in order to distinguish him from fellow footballer and countryman Ronaldo, who was known as "Ronaldinho" in Brazil beforehand. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and go by the name Ronaldinho abroad.

Prior to his move to Flamengo, he played for Paris Saint-Germain F.C., FC Barcelona and A.C. Milan. With the Spanish club, he won his first Champions League in 2006 and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.

He was also named in the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé, and in the FIFPro World XI consecutively from 2004–2007.

With his contract expiring in 2008, Ronaldinho was offered an extension until 2014 that would have net him £85 million over nine years, but he turned it down. In September 2005, he signed a two-year extension that contained a minimum-fee release clause that allowed him to leave should a club make an offer to Barcelona of at least £85 million for him.

Edin Džeko

Bosnian footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester City and the Bosnian national team. He was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for 2009 and 2010.In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he is known as Bosanski dijamant (The Bosnian Diamond).

Džeko began his career at Željezničar, playing as a midfielder between 2003 and 2005, but with little success. He was widely regarded as too tall, and with poor technical abilities he is naturally a right footed player.Džeko's coach at the time though, Jiří Plíšek, saw his potential and when Plišek returned home to the Czech Republic, he advised FK Teplice to buy him. Željezničar accepted a bid of just €25,000 for Džeko, prompting one of the Bosnian club's directors to say, "[we] thought we won the lottery"^.
He had a loan spell with Ústí nad Labem in 2005, during which he scored six goals in 15 games. Later that year, he moved back to FK Teplice, playing there until 2007. With 13 goals in 30 games, he was the top scorer of the Gambrinus liga in the 2006–07 season. Due to his performances, then manager Felix Magath of VfL Wolfsburg signed him for €4 million.

After heavy speculation, Roberto Mancini, manager of Manchester City, confirmed on 3 January 2011 that a fee of £27 million (€32 million) had been agreed with Wolfsburg for Džeko, which was City's second highest transfer figure, after Robinho's £32.5 million (€42.5 million) move from Real Madrid in 2008. The transfer fee was the sixth highest in the Premier League.Also, the sum broke the Bundesliga record departure transfer fee,Bosnian record transfer fee, as well as that of any player from ex-Yugoslavia.The previous ex-Yugoslav record stood for more than a decade – the transfer fee paid by Real Madrid to Fenerbahçe for Elvir Baljić in 1999 (€26 million).

Neymar

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), commonly known simply as Neymar (Portuguese pronunciation: [nejˈmaʁ]) or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Santos and the Brazilian national football team. He won the 2011 FIFA Puskás Award for scoring the best goal of the season in the Brazileirão in a 5–4 loss to Flamengo.

On 15 April 2010, Neymar scored five goals for Santos in an 8–1 routing of Guarani in the round of 16 of the Brazilian Cup.Following the 2010 Campeonato Paulista in which Neymar scored 14 goals in 19 games, the club were crowned champions after a 5–5 aggregate win over Santo André in the finals. Neymar was subsequently given the award for the best player in the competition. Neymar's performances for Santos have drawn comparisons to other Brazilians, including Robinho and Pelé. In June 2010, Santos rejected a £12 million bid for him from English Premier League team West Ham United. Neymar said he did not think it was time to leave Santos, and that he was entirely focused on his current club,However, Renato Rodrigues insisted that he did not want to stay in Brazil.On 30 November 2010, Santos sold 5 percent shares on future transfer fees received to an investment group, Terceira Estrela Investimentos S.A. (TEISA), for R$ 3,549,900 (€1.5 million).DIS Group (subsidiary of Sonda Group, a Brazil supermarket chain), investment partner of Santos in recent years, bought 40% sporting rights from Neymar's family in 2009.Neymar scored six goals during Santos run to the 2011 Copa Libertadores Finals, tying him for third top goalscorer, including the clinching goal of Santos' 4-3 aggregate win over Cerro Porteño in the semifinals. In the two-legged final, Santos faced Uruguayan side C.A. Peñarol and drew the first leg 0-0 in Montevideo. At home in the second leg, Neymar opened the scoring in the 46th minute as Santos held on for a 2-1 win and Neymar won Man of the Match honours.

Pelé

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (name given as Edison on birth certificate, born 21 October 1940 (however, Pelé himself claims that he was born in 23 October) , known by his nickname Pelé (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [peˈlɛ]), is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the best football players of all time. In 1999, he was voted Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics. In the same year French weekly magazine France-Football consulted their former "Ballon D'Or" winners to elect the Football Player of the Century. Pelé came in first position. In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named Pelé the "Athlete of the Century". In his career he scored 760 official goals, 541 in league championships, making him the top scorer of all time. In total Pelé scored 1281 goals in 1363 games.
In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero.^[ He is known for his accomplishments and contributions to the game of football.He is also acknowledged for his vocal support of policies to improve the social conditions of the poor (when he scored his 1,000th goal he dedicated it to the poor children of Brazil). During his career, he became known as "The King of Football" (O Rei do Futebol), "The King Pelé" (O Rei Pelé) or simply "The King" (O Rei).

Robinho

Robson de Souza (born 25 January 1984 in São Vicente, São Paulo State, Brazil), more commonly known as Robinho, is a Brazilian professional footballer who currently plays as second striker and winger for Serie A club Milan. He is also a member of the Brazilian national team.
In 1999, at only 15 years of age, Robinho was personally picked by Brazil legend Pelé as his heir apparent and went on to lead Santos to their first Campeonato Brasileiro title since Pelé himself played for the club. Since then he has won another title with Santos and two more with Spanish club Real Madrid. He won the Italian Serie A title in his first season at AC Milan. Robinho has won one Copa América title and two Confederations Cups with Brazil.

In 2002, at the age of eighteen, Robinho signed his first professional contract with Santos in Brazil. He made 24 appearances in his debut season and scoring 1 goal as Santos won the 2002 Campeonato Brasileiro. He reached the final of the 2003 Copa Libertadores with Santos, but lost in the final to Boca Juniors. In 2004, Robinho finished with 21 goals in 37 games and led Santos to win another Campeonato Brasileiro.
His form had brought him to the attention of many European clubs in the summer of 2004, but Robinho remained with Santos after the Brazilian club rejected all offers. However, his form suffered in the 2005 season after his mother, Marina da Silva Souza, was kidnapped by gunmen at her Praia Grande home on 6 November, but she was released unharmed six weeks later after a ransom was paid.

Daniel Alves

Daniel Alves da Silva (born 6 May 1983), commonly known as Dani Alves, is a Brazilian footballer. He plays as an attacking right defender for FC Barcelona and the Brazilian national team.
Before joining Barcelona, Alves spent a successful six year spell with Sevilla FC, winning two UEFA Cups and the Copa del Rey with the Andalusian side. He joined Barcelona for €32.5m,becoming the most expensive defender to date. Alves won the Treble in his first season with the club and a further Spanish super cup, European super cup, and FIFA Club World Cup, thus achieving the Sextuple. Also, he helped the club to clinch another Spanish super cup, two league titles, and a UEFA Champions League in the years that followed. Alves has held a Spanish passport since 2005.On Thursday, September 29, 2011, Alves was appointed as a Special Olympics Ambassador for its Global Football program, charged with promoting respect and inclusion in football for people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in the run up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Ronaldo

Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest "pure" striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the most prolific scorers in the world in the late 1990s and the early 2000s (decade). He won his first Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997 (aged only 21) and again won the award in 2002 (26 years old). Additionally, he is one of only three men to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with French footballer Zinedine Zidane and Argentine striker Lionel Messi.
In 2007, he was named as one of the best starting eleven of all-time by France Football and was named to the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest footballers compiled by fellow countryman Pelé. In 2010, he was voted Goal.com's "Player of the Decade" in an online poll, gathering 43.63 percent of all votes and was also included as centre forward in the "Team of the Decade".On 23 February 2010, Ronaldo announced that he would retire after the 2011 season, signing a two-year contract extension with the Corinthians at the same time. He is widely considered by experts and fans as one of the greatest football players of all time.
Ronaldo has played for Brazil in 98 international matches, scoring 62 goals. He was a part of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo became the highest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup with his fifteenth goal, surpassing Gerd Müller's previous record of 14. He is also the only player to have won the World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot in separate tournaments. Having suffered a string of serious injuries throughout his career, Ronaldo retired on 14 February 2011, citing pain and hypothyroidism as the reasons for his premature retirement.

Carles Puyol

He served as a longtime team captain for his only club FC Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004, going on to appear in more than 500 official games for the team and win 18 major titles, notably five La Liga and three UEFA Champions League championships.
A Spanish international on more than 100 occasions, Puyol was part of the squads that won the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup tournaments.

Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club, as a goalkeeper. However, after injury problems with his shoulder, he switched to striker. He said that in his youth, "My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study."^[2] In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again, to play as a defensive midfielder; two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right back.

Kaká

Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of fifteen that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of £56 million, smashing the previous record of Zidane, £49 million. Kaká's record was later broken by Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined Real Madrid for a fee of £80 million. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme.

Frank Lampard

Lampard began his career at West Ham United, his father Frank Lampard, Sr.'s former club. He had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.
From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time,^[10] and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's Player of the decade by official statistics.^[11] In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) and also had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists.^[12]
A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year,^[13] he is the club's third all-time goalscorer with 178 goals in all competitions, including over 100 league goals – the most in the club's history for a midfielder. Lampard is also the highest goalscoring midfielder in Premier League history (146 league goals)^[14] and second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 91 assists.^[15] He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season.^[16] In 2005, Lampard was voted second place in both the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d'Or.