Soccer Aid 2023: 7 Celebrities that were almost pro footballers including Robbie Williams and Louis Tomlinson

Soccer Aid returns for its seventeenth year with celebrities and footballers battling it out all to raise money for UNICEF. The England team will face Soccer Aid World XI (previously known as the Rest of the World) on Sunday 11 June from 6:30pm on ITV. 

Robbie Williams and close friend Johnathan Wilkes co-founded the event and since its first year Soccer Aid has taken on a life of its own. The annual charity match has raised over £60 million since it first began. 

But did you know that some of the celebrity players past and present could’ve actually gone pro with their football career?

Robbie Williams - Before becoming a singing sensation the Soccer Aid co-founder played for his beloved Port Vale in Stoke-On-Trent.

Tom Grennan - The 'Lionheart' singer will make history this year as he will be the first player to perform during halftime. Tom originally trained to be a footballer and played for Luton Town and also tried for Northampton Town and Aston Villa but was later released. 

Louis Tomlinson - It’s well known that the One Direction star loves his Doncaster football team and in 2013 he was asked to play as a reserve for them. 

Olly Murs - Before X-Factor Olly used to play semi-professionally for Coggeshall Town. In his first season he scored 12 goals but had to give up his football career due to injury. 

Gordan Ramsay- Chef Ramsay was on the path for football stardom after being selected for Warwickshire under 14’s team but it all came to an end when he was 18 badly injured his cartilage when he was on trial for Rangers. 

Mark Wright - The TOWIE alumni started his football career as a youth playing for teams such as West Ham United, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur. Mark played pro for Southend United but then decided to change his career path and go into promoting clubs. 

Sam Claflin - The Hollywood actor was a talented football player and played for Norwich schools at city level and Norfolk county level. But at 16 he had to give up his football career after breaking his ankle; thankfully he pursued acting instead.