Soccer players who started bodybuilding after retirement.
Soccer or football (for the Brits reading this article) is a fast-paced, frenetic game where having too much muscle mass would be of a severe disadvantage to a team’s players. There are notable exceptions of course (check out veteran striker Adebayo Akinfenwa who bullies defenders with his size on a regular basis) but the vast majority of players in pro leagues will be sternly told NOT to go too hard at the gym by their coaches when lifting weights, because when size is added, other important facets of a player’s physical game such as speed and agility will be severely compromised.
With that in mind, once players hang up their boots in their late 30’s it isn’t too uncommon to see those once slender footballers turn their hand to bodybuilding. After all, given they were elite-level athletes in their prime, it isn’t difficult to imagine they’d have the genetic components required (and determination) to be able to add significant muscle to their bodies.
Below we’ve listed a handful of notable players who’ve done exactly that and have produced some impressive results in the process.
Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres’ transformation is arguably the most impressive on this list, given how lean he was as a player. The Spaniard was revered for his pace during his time playing at Anfield, as he would run in behind defenders, which would often lead to the ball ending up in the back of the net. He is likely a forward that his former club would dearly love at this present time, as Liverpool are 8/1 to win the Premier League with Betway this season, as of August 25th.
Due to his habit of scoring important goals during his youth career, he was nicknamed El Nino by the adoring Atletico Madrid fans. However, it was in the Premier League that we would see the very best from Torres.
During the period from 2007 to 2010, Torres was revered as the world’s best striker, and he broke the long-standing record for the quickest Liverpool player to reach 50 goals. However, his stay at the club would soon turn sour, as he moved to Chelsea for a British record fee of £50 million. At international level, Torres was a key part of the Spain side that won the World Cup in 2010, as well as the EUROs in 2008 and 2012.
Jose Mari
Jose Mari enjoyed an excellent professional career, but since hanging up his boots, he began practicing bodybuilding. Fans have been amazed by the progression that he has made since retiring, and there are certainly plans in the future for him to compete. On the field, Mari played over 270 times in La Liga, and scored over 49 goals across an eleven-year period.
Like Torres, Mari’s most productive stay in Spain was with Atletico Madrid. His big breakthrough in the top tier of Spain came with the club from the capital, as he scored 20 goals in 84 appearances. However, after a two-year stay with the club, he signed for Italian Giants AC Milan. But, he could never adapt to life in Italy, which meant that he returned to Atletico on loan in 2002. His second stay wasn’t full of high points, with a rare moment coming as he scored a hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao.
In 2003, he joined Villarreal for an undisclosed fee, and went on to play over 100 times for the club. During that period, he scored 15 league goals. However, the arrival of Giuseppe Rossi meant that he fell down the pecking order, and he was subsequently sold to Real Betis, before ending his career with spells at Gimnastic and Xerez.
Tim Weise
One of the most interesting bodybuilding footballers that gained international headlines was Tim Weise. Soon after retiring from football in 2014, he put on a lot of muscle mass, and then seemingly announced that he was looking at a new career. Wiese was open about his dream of competing in WWE, and that eventually led to him having a match in the company alongside Sheamus and Cesaro against The Shining Stars and Bo Dallas. However, he was ultimately released by the WWE in 2017.
Wiese was one of the most talented goalkeepers during his heyday, as he was a mainstay at a number of massive clubs. His big breakthrough came with Kaiserslautern before joining Werder Bremen in 2005. His best season with the club came in the 2006-07 campaign as he was an ever-present for the German side in the Bundesliga and was a significant player in the team that reached the DFB Pokal final. However, after seven years with the club, he joined Hoffenheim, and was immediately made club captain.
His stay at the club wasn’t a high point, as he played just ten times after falling out with the coach. But, after being released by the club, it was announced that he had begun bodybuilding and his style was unsuited to professional football. Weise also represented his national side on six occasions and was part of the team that finished third at the 2010 World Cup.
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