A Guide to Becoming a Football Superstar

While there’s no set formula for becoming a global football superstar, there are certain qualities that unite all the world’s best football players.

So if you’re looking to become the next Mo Salah or you just want to know what makes a truly great footballer, here are some of the factors that turn a brilliant player into a global megastar.

Talent and Ability

Talent and ability are obviously top of the list when it comes to being a football superstar. To a certain extent, this is dictated by your natural physicality and skills. For example, being able to think – and move – fast, being naturally athletic, and having a good level of coordination, will all help to give you an advantage over other players from a young age.

However, natural talent isn’t enough by itself to create a football superstar. Athleticism, balance, coordination and mental agility are all things that can be improved upon with regular training, practice and sheer hard work, which means anyone with a love of the sport and the willingness to train regularly can level up.

The best players aren’t naturally gifted footballers who rest on their laurels, but those players who are willing to work hard, are dedicated to the sport and want to become the very best they can be.

Mentorship

Proper mentorship and guidance can separate good players from true greats. Having a mentor in the sport is critical, not just for success on the pitch but for becoming a well-rounded and respected player off the pitch too.

Many players will have a role model in the sport, someone they look up to and want to emulate in their career, and if this role model is also able to offer support and guidance to a young player early in their career, it can have transformative effects on their prodigy, as can be seen in the case of Kylian Mbappe and Jirès Kembo Ekoko.

Becoming a Popular Icon

Having raw talent, building on your skills and seeking mentorship from the great footballers who have come before isn’t always enough to guarantee you icon status in the world of football.

In fact, it isn’t always the best players on the pitch that become the most talked-about or globally recognised. Often, the footballers who become popular icons have a certain something else that makes them popular with the public – a je ne sais quoi that propels them to new heights both inside and outside the sport.

Players might obtain multi-million-pound sponsorship deals with fashion companies and lifestyle brands or become well-known for their charitable works and campaigning, such as Marcus Rashford who fought for free school meals during lockdowns. Sometimes, it’s their associations with other celebrities or their personalities that capture attention and make them popular with the general public.

Whatever it might be, global football superstars have something special to offer their fans both on and off the pitch.

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