In this post, I will be naming 7 top footballers who still can’t speak English, despite either playing in England or being at the top level for years.
Now for any aspiring footballer who wants to play professionally one of the mandatory requirements is that you learn to speak some English.
This is due to the fact that English is the common language in football of which is used within interviews, at award ceremonies and even when communicating on the pitch with officials.
So due to all this, its, therefore key for a footballer to learn some English along their journey to becoming a footballer.
However for some players, its put off and because of being content at speaking either their native or the primary language of the club they are at, they never really improve their English skills.
So today I will be going over some of the world-class footballers, who despite being top of their game, you will almost never find speaking English.
Table of Contents
1. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is arguably one of the best footballers of the current generation, who is known for not speaking English.
Whenever you catch him in an interview he will be only be found speaking his native language.
There have been videos captured where he has muttered a few words of English.
However, what is quite apparent is that the Catalan based footballer isn’t able to speak it well enough to string sentences together.
As you will find by others on this list, this is common of players from South American backgrounds, as they are brought up learning solely Spanish.
So for someone who has played his whole career in Barcelona and therefore hasn’t needed English you can see why he doesn’t speak it.
2. Sergio Agüero
Now also a club teammate along with national teammate of Messi, Sergio Agüero is another highly talented footballer who doesn’t speak great english.
When he first came to the premier league in 2012 to join Manchester City, he was only able to say a few words in English.
His first interview consisted of mixed Spanish and English the use of very basic words.
However, nowadays he can speak better English and explain a bit more thoroughly.
But despite nearly a decade in the country to compare to other Argentinians and players who speak Spanish in the Premier League its still not of a great level.
Below are two interviews, one of which is his first and the other is one of his last for Man City.
3. Angel Di-Maria
Carrying on with the theme of Argentina’s who have struggled to get to grips with English, is Angel Di-Maria.
Angel Di-Maria was a highly touted transfer for Manchester United from Real Madrid back in 2014.
However, the player who now plays for PSG had a rough time in the city.
This includes having his house broken into, struggling to score and create goals and finally not being able to communicate in English.
In an interview after a 4 nil win against QPR which saw Di-Maria score a free-kick, he had to rely on teammate Juan Mata.
As he translated the reporter’s questions from English to Spanish, so that Di-Maria could respond because he wasn’t able to speak English.
Within his short stint, his media time was limited and with him only featuring in a few interviews which were all translated, the United fans never saw him speak English.
4. Neymar Jr
Neymar Jr who is up there as one of the best five players in the world is someone who can’t speak English.
While he can’t speak it, there is a lot to suggest through interviews that the Brazilian understands the language.
Through these videos, you can also see that is able to say some words and the odd sentence.
But while he is fluent in both Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, he isn’t able to fully express himself in English.
Conclusion
Footballers who are either brought up without English being present or without feeling the need to learn, are the ones that typically find it hard to pick it up and speak it.
So for many of the footballers who do not speak English on this list, especially those who are from South America will typically not speak English. They will only tend to learn it if they are moving to a club that requires it.
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