Hiram Moreno
We all have that special person whom we always count on and who has all our trust. For professional athletes, things are no different. The best friendships in soccer last beyond the field, no matter what.
These types of friendships also develop in sports, with players creating a very particular bond between them, and here at JefeBet, we bring you some of the best soccer friendships that exist or have existed.
The 6 Best Friendships in Modern Soccer
Sergio Ramos and Mesut Özil
The Spanish defender and the German midfielder were quite close during Özil’s three-year stay in the “Casa Blanca”.
One of the most remembered anecdotes is the match against Deportivo La Coruña in which Ramos played the second half with his great friend’s shirt underneath his shirt, who was replaced after being pointed out by José Mourinho during the break due to his poor performance.
The paths of both would separate in 2013 with Özil heading to Arsenal, and both had time to dedicate an emotional farewell after meeting at Real Madrid.
Xavi and Lionel Messi
The friendship between Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta during that golden age of Barcelona is undeniable. The midfield masters had as a pupil the player who was on his way to become the best player in the world.
A memorable frame of both players is one in which Xavi is assisting Messi who was visibly drunk in Gothenburg, Sweden, which elicited laughter when it was claimed that Xavi assists Messi “on and off the pitch.”
Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero
Another of the “Pulga’s” well-known friendships is with Sergio Agüero, which began when they shared a team in the 2005 U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands- They have a good anecdote, since Messi knew of Agüero when he met him due to him making his debut in the first division so young, but “Kun” had no idea who Messi was and even asked him “And what’s your name?”
They shared a room in that World Cup, and would end up sharing a life ever since, with both players being in contact and having a good friendship ever since, although the dream of playing together at club level never materialized as Agüero’s arrival at Barça coincided with the departure of Messi to PSG.
Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi
Two eternal symbols of the eternal city, Totti and De Rossi shared an entire career in Rome, and could even be compared to Romulus and Remus, the founding children of Rome who were fed by “La Lupa” according to Roman mythology.
The two shared 16 years at the club, and although they didn’t achieve much in terms of titles with “la Roma”, they managed to lift a World Cup together in 2006, a feat few friends can boast about.
David Villa and Pepe Reina
Another pair of friends who managed to lift a World Cup were David Villa and Pepe Reina. Reina, despite not playing many minutes with the national team, was always considered a very important player in the locker room, and his relationship with David Villa was one of the strongest.
Both conquered South Africa in 2010, in a World Cup in which David Villa stole the spotlight as one of the top scorers in the competition with five goals.
Jose Mourinho and Rui Faria
There are also friendships within the coaching staff, and one of the most notable is that of the Portuguese coach José Mourinho and Rui Faria. The pair conquered Europe with Porto, and they have been inseparable ever since, with Mourinho taking Faria with him to Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and Manchester United before the two parted ways in 2019 after 15 years working together.
