Sports stars are not renowned for their taste in music. Anything that is either in the charts or works on social media platforms is probably about the limit of most top athletes. But there are some footballers that have shown that they buck the trend.
It might be tough being able to get their music on the changing room sound systems, but Metal is the go-to choice for the following five footballers. They all feature (or featured) regularly on the sports pages, as well as on the California sports betting sites, so it is not as if we are scraping the barrel here! Prepare to meet the Heavy Metal footballers.
David De Gea, Manchester United
The Manchester United keeper has admitted that his teammates moan when he gets anywhere near the music system, as they are mostly into hip hop. But De Gea has always been into heavier music and is a big fan of bands like Slipknot and Metallica. He even presented a shirt to Avenged Sevenfold on stage when they played in Manchester.
It looked like De Gea’s time in Manchester was going to be up a couple of seasons ago, as his form deteriorated. But we are pleased to see that the Spanish international has won back his starting place in the team and is probably annoying the hell out of his teammates once again.
Sergio Ramos, Paris Saint-Germain
If there were a current footballer that you could have laid money on being into Metal, it would be Sergio Ramos. He is known in the game as a player who actively seeks out the darker arts and is regarded as a non-nonsense defender who is quite happy to take an opponent out rather than allow them to score.
His music tastes are just as unforgiving. He has professed a love of both AC/DC and Metallica, and it is no surprise to learn that he uses the music to pump himself up before games. His love of AC/DC was shown to the world when he was pictured with the band when they played in his home country.
Stuart Pearce, England
When a player revels in the nickname ‘Psycho’ for the whole of his career, he is not going to like a spot of ambient music, now is he? Pearce is now retired from the game but played for a number of clubs including Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Manchester City – as well as for his country.
But he was also well known to frequent punk gigs whenever he got the opportunity. His personal favourites are The Stranglers, who he has apparently seen over 300 times. But he has also admitted that he is a big fan of The Sex Pistols and Stiff Little Fingers.
Claudio Caniggia, Argentina
Some players just look like they like Metal. Claudio Caniggia was an Argentina international who also played for some of the biggest football clubs in Europe during a long and successful career. He also had a few brushes with the law – but the less said about that, the better.
What we can mention for sure is that he is a huge metal fan and drummer. The love is mutual, apparently, as he was asked by Poison to perform on three tracks live on stage when they were both in the US back in 1994. He also missed the World Cup four years later when he refused to cut his long hair – and you can’t really get more Metal than that.
Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool
Our last footballing metal fan is actually much better known for his coaching skills than his playing career. But Liverpool’s German manager is also well-documented as a fan of heavier music. Although some of the bands he has admitted liking are a little softer than some on here. Genesis, Jurgen?
His Metal credentials were sealed, though, when he described the difference between his coaching style and the one employed by Arsene Wenger, the then-Arsenal manager. He said that Wenger liked his passing to be like an orchestra, whereas Klopp liked Heavy Metal and wanted his football to be loud.
