TOP. 20 Great Footballers Who Are Devout Catholics

• 20. Lukas Podolski
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• Lukas Podolski was born in Poland and is also Catholic, and a particular fan of St John Paul II.
• 19. MIROSLAV KLOSE
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• Klose is devout catholic. He holds religion very close to his heart and in 2012 he had a chance to meet Pope Benedict XVI who is a huge Bayern Munich fan.
• 18. MARIO GOTZE (Borrusia Dortmund)
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• Gotze is a devout Catholic and values decency and modesty
• 17. WILLIAN (Chelsea)
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• According to Willian, he said that he had grown up going to a Catholic church with my parents every Sunday.
• 16. ROMELU LUKAKU
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• Lukaku is a practising Roman Catholic; he made the pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2014.
• 15. DAVID SILVA. (Manchester City)
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• When Spain won the World Cup in 2010, David Silva thanked Our Lady of Mount Carmel. When the team went to Mexico for a friendly match, they took the trophy and dedicated it to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
• 14. ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI.(Bayern Munich)
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• Lewandowski is a practising Catholic. He met Pope Francis in October 2014, when Bayern Munich visited Vatican City following a 7–1 win over A.S. Roma in the UEFA Champions League.
• 13. WAYNE ROONEY
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• Wayne Rooney is a devout Roman Catholic and very serious about his faith.
• The English Footballer, is said to wear a Rosary around his neck during training.
• 12. EDINSON CAVANI. (Paris Saint German)
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• Cavani whose full name is Edinson Roberto Cavani Gomez is known to be a very devout Catholic. The Uruguayan has had connections with the Catholic church throughout his entire life.
• 11. OLIVIER GIROUD. (Chelsea)
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• Olivier Giroud is also another follower of the Catholic faith born in Chambery, France.
• The Chelsea striker has a tattoo on his right arm which is a script from Psalm 23, reading “Dominus regit me et nihil mihi deerit”(Latin), which means “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” in English.
• 10. MANUEL NEUER.
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• Neuer whose full name is Manuel Peter Neuer is also a devout Catholic that supports the Gelsenkirchen-based Catholic social action group. The main aim of this particular social action group is to combat child poverty.
• 9. RADAMEL FALCAO.
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• Falcao whose full name is Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate followed the footsteps of his Father, who was also a Professional Defender in Football. He comes from a highly Catholic family.
• The Colombian striker studies the Bible and prays before every match, he also tries to get his teammates involved too. While celebrating a goal, he is fond of lifting up his Jersey revealing a T-shirt saying: “With Jesus you’ll never be alone.”
• 8. GIANLUIGI BUFFON. (Juventus)
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• Gianluigi Buffon is a Catholic by faith. He is a good pal of the Pope. They both met in 2013 under the umbrella of football and religion.
• After the European Championship Tournament in 2012, The popular 42-year-old goalkeeper went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia.
• 7. ANDRES INIESTA. (Vissel Kobe)
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• Andres Iniesta is a Spanish Footballer who plays the role of a midfielder for Japanese club Vissel Kobe. He spent most of his footballing career at Barça.
• Before the World Cup in 2010, the spaniard promised that if his country should win, he would take a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, the “Way of St. James.”
• 6. SERGIO RAMOS. (Real Madrid)
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• Segio Ramos Garcia was born and raised in Spain.
• The Real Madrid defender is also a devout Catholic and even has a tattoo of the Blessed Virgin Mary on his upper left arm.
• The Spanish team Captain is currently listed among the best defenders in the World.
• 5. JAMES RODRIGUEZ. (Bayern Munich)
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• James David Rodriguez Rubio has not only become notable for his accomplishments in football, but also for the tattoo of Jesus on his left leg. As a devout Catholic, he takes his faith to social media attributing his successful games to God.
• The colombian attacker is always quick to air on social media that his achievement is all down to God.
• 4. SERGIO AGUERO. (Manchester City)
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• The Argentine whose full name is Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo is also another notable Catholic.
• The Manchester City's all time Higest-goal Scorer is widely regarded as one of the top strikers of his generation and one of the best players in the history of the English Premier League.
• 3. NEYMAR JR. (Paris Saint German)
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• Neymar, whose full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, was born on 5th of February, 1992 in Brazil.
• The PSG striker is also a Catholic, faithful in word, but not in deed. However, there is a wide diversity of devotions in the Catholic Church, so we must not judge.
• 2. CRISTIANO RONALDO. (Juventus)
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• Ronaldo whose full name is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on the 5th of February, 1985 in Funchal, Portugal.
• He was raised in a Catholic and impoverished home, sharing one room with all his siblings.
• The Portuguese attacker prays before each game, he collects rosaries sent by his fans, and in contrast with many Footballers, he doesn’t have tattoos as he frequently donates blood. 
• 1. LIONEL MESSI.(Barcelona)
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• Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini was born on the 24th of June, 1987. He was born in Rosario, Argentina.
• The demise of his grandmother who died just before his 11th Birthday had a great effect on him.

However, as a devout Catholic, the multiple Ballon d'Or winner celebrates his goals by gazing and pointing to the sky in acknowledgement of his late grandmother.