From Neymar to David Beckham: 5 footballers who have acted in movies

Footballers are known to be one of the world's renowned athletes, owing to the sport's immense global popularity. Naturally, some footballers become so famous, for their gameplay and their looks, that they venture into the entertainment industry and even act in movies.

Over the years, the sport of football has seen numerous top athletes emerging and dominating. While some are known for their sublime gameplays, some are even famous for their cool looks.

Naturally, looks are bound to attract these footballers into the world of entertainment. Also, the ones who happen to have both the looks and decent acting skills act in movies.

From local movies to Hollywood, quite some footballers have made a name for themselves in the same. In the same light, we look at some of the famous footballers to have featured in movies.

Eric Cantona: True football fans know how legendary Eric Cantona is. The former French and Manchester United forward has won numerous titles in his illustrious career. Despite going good, he retired from football considerably early, at the age of 31, to pursue a career as an actor. Well, it turned out to be an excellent decision for him, as he had tremendous success in the industry, especially in French movies.

Pele: The legendary former Brazilain forward, too, has tried his luck as an actor. In the movie Escape to Victory, he starred, where he was seen scoring an extraordinary goal for The Allies, against The Nazis, in a Death Match. He worked alongside fellow footballers Bobby Moore, John Wark and Paul Marriner, while the film was both a commercial and critical success.

Zinedine Zidane: Another Frenchman in the list and another legend, as Zidane, too, has tried his luck in movies. Although he appeared briefly in the famous Goal series, he made a name for himself in Asterix at the Olympics and Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. Nonetheless, he has never pursued it full time, as he is focusing on his coaching stint with Real Madrid.

David Beckham: We can certainly agree that Beckham has the looks to shine as an actor. Well, he did try his acting skills King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, besides appearing in some of the Goal movies and making a special appearance in Bend it like Beckham. Overall, he was satisfactory.

Neymar: The Brazilian forward is a great actor on the pitch. The reason why we say that is because of his conniving tactic of exaggerating injury or a foul. Naturally, he tried his luck in the movies, as he famously appeared in Hollywood movie XXX: Return of Xander Cage and was decent.