We all know how our favourite footballers like to splash out on luxury cars, but it seems that a few sporting stars have also been spending some time at the racetrack too. And it’s not just legendary managers like Sir Alex Ferguson who own racehorses, as even some of the best players in the world have put their time and money into horse racing.
Take the Real Madrid star, Sergio Ramos, who has become such a big horse racing fan that he even opened up his own stud farm near Seville. What’s notable is the fact that his Real Madrid teammate, Keylor Navas, is also a big fan of racing and can regularly be spotted taking out his own horses for a run.
Claudio Pizarro is another footballing star with the eye for the horses. Whilst you might have seen him playing in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen, the Peruvian star actually owns over 50 racehorses and likes to bet small stakes on the horses. So although most of us would be happy to head to horsebetting.com to win on horse racing, it seems that Pizarro likes to take things one step further. Also in the Bundesliga, the Bayern Munich star, Thomas Muller reportedly owns many horses at home, although these are used for dressage competitions.
But what about horse racing fans in the UK footballing scene? Most of us will know how the England legend, Michael Owen, owns, breeds and even races horses, but there are a few more footballers who also like a touch of racetrack action. Whilst Wayne Rooney has made the jump for Major League Soccer, he is still a horse racing fan and has owned three racehorses, whilst the current Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp accidentally provided his own betting tips for a recent Grand National race that didn’t exactly have a winning result.
Whilst Joey Barton has struggled with the wrong kind of press, he still managed to find the time to get involved in the horse racing world and reportedly has named some of his racehorses after his favourite pop songs. And then think about the ex-Newcastle star Tino Asprilla who not only owns his own racehorses, but even posted a picture of himself riding a horse whilst wearing a tyrannosaurus rex costume. So whilst a footballer’s career can be notoriously short-lived, it seems as though the horse racing world can keep them entertained in many other ways.