In February 2014, while sitting in the Canal+ España studio, Mexican forward Carlos Vela answered a question about his relationship with football by stating that he would choose a good film over a good match. At the time, Vela was playing for Real Sociedad and actively refusing a call-up to the Mexico national team ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Mexican outlet Mediotiempo detailed his stance, noting his remark that football had never captivated him to that degree. Despite that detachment from the sport’s romantic ideal, Vela passed through Arsenal and later became a star in Major League Soccer.
Vela’s perspective is not isolated among elite competitors. A group of professional players across different eras approached the game strictly as a job rather than a lifelong passion, according to public statements and reporting by outlets such as The Guardian and UEFA. Alongside Vela, figures like Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Gareth Bale, Christian Vieri, Gabriel Batistuta, and Michael Owen maintained a purely professional distance from the sport that made them famous.
Benoît Assou-Ekotto and the Tottenham Defender’s View on Professional Duty
Benoît Assou-Ekotto, the former Cameroon and Tottenham Hotspur left-back, repeatedly stated during his playing career that football was simply a job like any other. In an interview with The Guardian, Assou-Ekotto emphasized that he gave 100 percent effort while on the clock, but that football ceased to exist for him once training ended. He argued that professionalism and personal passion are two separate things, comparing his obligations on the pitch to those of an accountant or a surgeon.
That perspective often drew negative reactions from supporters, particularly in France, who viewed such admissions as a betrayal of an unspoken contract between fans and players. Assou-Ekotto acknowledged those harsh public responses while maintaining that treating the sport as labor rather than worship did not diminish his output on the pitch.
Gabriel Batistuta and Michael Owen on Trade Craft and Burnout
Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta, one of the leading goalscorers of the 1990s, consistently spoke of football as a craft and a discipline rather than an emotional calling. Batistuta trained with strict intensity, scored heavily for Fiorentina and Roma, and never pretended that he lived and breathed the game outside of his professional duties.
Michael Owen presented a different trajectory regarding his relationship with the sport. The Ballon d’Or winner revealed that during the final six or seven years of his career, he actively disliked football and simply counted down the days until he could retire. While the young Owen who won the Ballon d’Or embraced the game, the veteran forward at Stoke City dealt with the accumulation of chronic injuries that turned his profession into an endurance test.
Christian Vieri and Gareth Bale Find Mental Outlets Outside the Pitch
Italian striker Christian Vieri admitted to UEFA in 2003 that he would have abandoned football without hesitation if he could have secured an identical contract in cricket. Despite those preferences, Vieri scored prolific goals in Serie A and at the FIFA World Cup.
Similarly, Gareth Bale, who won multiple UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid, frequently sought mental relief in golf to clear his head from the intense pressure of elite club football. Bale faced an intense media campaign in Madrid centered around his golf hobby, an environment that often overshadowed his on-field production.
Career Decisions Driven by a Job-First Mentality
This pragmatic relationship with football routinely influenced major career choices for these players. Vela ultimately chose to leave European club competition to continue his career in Los Angeles, while Bale leaned heavily into his time on the golf course to manage professional stress. Public admissions of this detached mindset almost universally emerged after players finished their careers, when they no longer depended on club dressing rooms or public relations management. Batistuta, Bale, Vieri, and Vela demonstrated that high-level talent, physical discipline, and competitive drive can sustain a major career even in the absence of fanatical devotion to the sport itself.
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