There are instances where footballers disguised themselves in public to avoid getting attention. Being a famous superstar definitely comes with its many advantages, but sometimes you just get tired of being known everywhere you go. Footballers know a lot about this and that’s why some of them have been seen trying to wear disguises in order to go unnoticed.
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Footballers Disguised Themselves In Public
Here are 7 incidents when footballers disguised themselves in public.
1. Hakimi and Mbappe in New York
Paparazzi in the US are not something to be joked with, so if you’re going there as a famous person and you don’t want all that attention, make sure to have your full disguise on. And the PSG duo, Hakimi and Mbappe, understood this, so they went there fully ready for their little holiday.
After they both made it to the final round of games at the World Cup, the PSG boss decided to give the boys some time off at the beginning of the year, and they decided to use that time to visit the US.
They were fully covered up with masks, turtle necks, hoodies, and hats. They really didn’t want to take any chances. And it seemed to have worked perfectly because look at them just doing normal things in New York without anyone going crazy.
And these guys seemed to have really enjoyed their time in New York. Look at them taking a picture in front of the H&M building. And in case you didn’t notice what they did there, per their initials, they are both H&M.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo as a homeless man
Ronaldo is one of the most recognizable faces in the world; after all, he’s the most followed human on Instagram. So, if he’s going to wear a disguise, it has to be very good.
And indeed, it was excellent when he did it in Madrid back in 2015. CR7 disguised himself as a homeless man, complete with a fake beard, a padded suit, artificial hair, sunglasses—everything. It worked seamlessly; nobody could recognize the homeless man casually playing with a ball on the street.
Ronaldo played his part perfectly, even going as far as asking a lady for her phone number for effect, and she didn’t even give him an audience. If only she had known.
Nevertheless, a little boy joined the homeless man to play, prompting Ronaldo to reveal himself and gift the boy a signed ball. Surely, that not only made the little boy’s day but probably his entire life.
When Ronaldo unveiled himself, everyone went crazy. No one at the Plaza del Callao could have guessed that the homeless man was CR7.
However, the next guy didn’t do as well with his disguise as Ronaldo.
3. Ronaldinho as a cop
In a scene that could easily be mistaken for a Pepsi ad, Ronaldinho disguised himself as a police officer, approached a group of young men, and demanded the ball. Clad in a police uniform with sunglasses and a hat, it didn’t take the boys long at all to realize that it was Ronaldinho in disguise. They were elated at their discovery.
4. Shaqiri as an old coach
Back in 2015, Shaqiri decided to have some fun by pranking young footballers. He disguised himself as an old coach and led a Swiss youth team in drills. Sporting a padded suit, a full gray beard, and a hat, everything seemed ordinary.
Initially, everything was going smoothly. However, the young boys began to suspect foul play when the supposedly elderly coach displayed remarkable accuracy in his long balls and effortlessly scored free kicks.
The truth was finally revealed when this old man, actually Shaqiri, outpaced one of the young boys and scored easily against the goalkeeper. Shaqiri promptly removed his beard and the rest of his disguise, and it suddenly made sense to the Swiss boys.
Naturally, they were delighted to have had the honor of being pranked by a true Swiss legend.
5. Ronaldo at a nightclub
Yes, it’s CR7 again. The Al Nassr forward once shared a story of how he had to don a disguise to enjoy a night out at a nightclub with his friend, Ricardo, on New Year’s Eve.
Ronaldo recounted this tale to Piers Morgan during an interview back in 2019. Here’s what he said:
“It was New Year’s Eve, and I spoke to Ric and said we have to go out, we have to do something, a discotheque; it’s New Year’s Eve, we cannot stay home. He said ‘Yeah, but we have to find some way to go, let’s put on a wig, a mustache, a jacket, something.’”
So, they did just that and headed to the club. However, it seems their disguise wasn’t foolproof because they were easily recognized. Ronaldo explained:
“Some guy behind us whispered, ‘Cristiano, I know it’s you.’ I thought, no way, this isn’t possible. That guy told everyone in the discotheque that I am Cristiano, so I felt like everyone in the discotheque was looking at me. We stayed there for like two, three hours before we went to sleep. It was one of the best nights I ever had. I felt free.”
Surely, these superstar footballers would love to feel free a few more times in their lives.
6. Rivaldo for Barcelona
Rivaldo put on a disguise to join a group of Barcelona supporters to play a friendly game. He came off the bench and just went on to do Rivaldo things on the pitch – dribbling, scoring, and absolutely mesmerizing his opponents.
After the game, he was revealed as the man of the match and he stepped forward and took off his disguise to the surprise of the entire group. They had been playing with a superstar Ballon d’Or winner the entire time and they didn’t know.
And that disguise was really good cos Rivaldo looked more like Andre Gomes than himself the entire time. Well, no surprises there. The makeup artist, Sarita Allison, is known for her work on productions like X-Men, Harry Potter, and different Star Wars movies.
7. Ribery, Rafinha, and Alaba prank at a local park
Back when these 3 were teammates at Bayern, they decided to visit a local park one day disguised as regular guys to have a little fun.
A few guys came around to play against them while a crowd of people came around to watch. At first, the Bayern boys acted like they were terrible at football, and then boom! They turned the switch on and started bamboozling their opponents.
After minutes of doing that, the pro ballers then unveiled themselves and then it made sense to everyone. Surely they were thoroughly entertained that afternoon.
Anyway, of all these guys who made the list, who would you say had the best disguise?
Also, if you know more footballers who have put on a disguise at any time, whether for a prank or just to go out, let us know in the comments.
