There are some sports where being selfish and greedy is important: tennis, golf and boxing all spring to mind. But, unlike those, football is a team sport made up of 11 different individuals – not excluding those in the dugout and the thousands of supporters – who are all working towards a common goal. But that’s not to say the beautiful game is completely excused from self-obsessed players.
But is it necessarily a bad thing? It depends on how you perceive greatness and the lengths that players go through in order to become the best of the best – or at least in said conversations.
The success of many footballers – of past and present – has been built on a self-imposed resilience and greed. As frustrating as it can be, especially when it comes as a detriment, the mavericks of the footballing world are commonplace. Some players can’t resist the urge to make it all about themselves; and we’ve enlisted the help of AI to whittle it down to the 15 most selfish players in football right now.
Mohamed Salah
What AI said: “Legendary for vanishing in big moments and feuding over passes (e.g., with Mané); Souness labelled him “the most selfish player I’ve ever witnessed.”
Goals have been a guarantee during Mohamed Salah‘s spell manning the right flank for Liverpool since moving from AS Roma in the summer of 2017. Eight years later and he’s left plenty of goalscoring records in tatters at his feet – but, in the Egyptian’s pursuit of greatness, there has often been times when his greediness has crept in.
Cristiano Ronaldo
What AI said: “Iconic goal-hunger leads to ignored tap-ins for teammates; off-pitch, his Ballon d’Or rants and transfer demands prioritise personal legacy over team success.”
A natural-born winner beyond measure, it’s easy to see why Cristiano Ronaldo is weighed down by claims that he is greedy. Albeit a valuable asset to the Portuguese talisman, who is now whiskers away from reaching the 1,000-goal mark in his club career, it has often been at the detriment of his side’s overall prospects.
Especially in the latter stages of his career, a 40-year-old Ronaldo often throws his arms aloft when a teammate, for either club or country, fails to find him with a pass. It’s all about being a team player – but that’s sometimes not on the agenda for the ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid marksman. His obsession with being the best of the best has, at times, been a negative.
Kylian Mbappe
What AI said: “Frequently called the “most selfish player in the world” for dribbling into traffic instead of squaring easy passes, as seen in multiple PSG counters and early Real Madrid games; his ego has disrupted team harmony post-transfer.”
Widely regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet, Kylian Mbappe exploded onto the scene while on the books of AS Monaco by scoring goals at an alarming rate and, to follow, him slow start in Real Madrid colours (by his talismanic standards, at least) was soon forgotten about when he regained his impact in front of goal.
Born and raised in Paris, Mbappe is seen as the heir to the aforementioned Ronaldo in the Spanish capital and with that comes a sense of being egotistical. Once he’s won an abundance of titles with the European juggernauts, the conversation may begin to change – but, for now, it’s not unfair to say there’s a bit of selfishness in the Frenchman’s play.