Football is shocking. It’s so shocking that people have been known to literally lose their minds while doing football. I don’t have to prove that statement to you, it’s just a publicly acknowledged fact. Here are 25 football things that’ll have you looking like Phil Jones defending a lofted through ball by the time you’ve finished reading.
25 Crazy Football Facts That'll Shock Your Socks Off
#1. Thomas Muller is only 27 years old. The six-time Bundesliga winner and 85-time German international is really just getting started.
#2. Charlie Adam is only 31. He's actually younger than Cristiano Ronaldo. Like Muller, the Scotsman is just getting started.
#3. Franck Ribery is already 34, but it seems like he was the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year only yesterday — that was back in 2006. Where has the time gone, Riblets?
#4. Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading active international goalscorer with 75. Lionel Messi is second with 58. Clint Dempsey is third with 56.
#5. Former Inter Milan, Newcastle United and Seattle Sounders striker Obafemi Martins plays for Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.
#6. Andre Villas-Boas makes £11 million-a-year coaching Shanghai SIPG in the CSL.
#7. The only team to finish the 2010 World Cup undefeated was New Zealand. They drew with defending champions Italy at that tournament.
#8. Costa Rica never lost a match in regular or extra time at the 2014 World Cup. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out.
#9. Brazil had more shots (18-14), shots on target (13-12) and possession (52-48) than Germany in their 1-7 defeat in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup.
#10. Memphis Depay has a Jigglypuff tattoo, and he's married to Steve Harvey's daughter.
#11. Between 1961 and 1984, Barcelona won La Liga once — the 1973-74 season.
#12. Norway has played Brazil four times, they’ve won two and drawn two.
#13. The transfer of Gaizka Mendieta from Valencia to Lazio (€48m) was more than what Real Madrid payed for Brazilian Ronaldo (€46m) and Manchester City for Sergio Aguero (€45m).
#14. Jozy Altidore is only six caps away from breaking into the top 10 all-time for the USMNT. He's also third all-time in goals scored. He's only 27.
#15. Honduras took third at the 2001 Copa America, dumping Brazil out in the quarterfinals.
#16. Guadeloupe took fourth at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France and not a country.
#17. Gary Lineker s**t himself in England’s opening match at the 1990 World Cup against Ireland. He stayed on until the 83rd minute.
#18. ENGLAND CREATED THE WORD SOCCER. ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL ——> ASSOC FOOTBALL ——> SOCCER. THEY DID THAT ABBREVIATION.
#19. The greatest international goalscorer of all-time, without a shadow of a doubt, is Argentina’s Guillermo Stabile. In four World Cup matches for La Albiceleste, he scored eight goals.
#20. A "Space Clause" was put in Stefan Schwarz’s contract upon signing for Sunderland saying he couldn’t travel to space. One of the Swede’s advisors had booked a place on one of the first commercial flights to space, so Sunderland made sure that Schwarz wouldn’t be traveling with him.
#21. Jack Rodwell went three years, eight months and 29 days without winning a Premier League match in which he started — a winless run of 39 games.
#22. Jesus Navas, signed by Manchester City for £14.9 million in 2013, ended his City career without a goal in more than 103 hours of EPL football — 115 matches.
#23. Mario Balotelli has only one Premier League assist — this one.
#24. Honduran Alex Pineda Chacon won the 2001 MLS MVP award with 19 goals in 25 matches for the Miami Fusion. The team then folded, and Chacon played for the New England Revolution, LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew over the next two seasons, totaling two goals in 34 matches.
#25. Three teams have never been relegated from the Spanish Primera Division: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao