Top 10 fat footballers

IS there a funnier sight in professional sport than a footballer carrying an spare tyre around his waist?

Even in today’s world of super-fit stars, there are still a number of chunky players filling up the biggest leagues.

No10: John Hartson
Hartson’s weight was like a yo-yo during his colourful career. The powerful striker was deadly during his time with West Ham but he struggled to keep the pounds off. The Welshman once told Bobby Gould to "keep his nose out" after the national boss criticised the player for being overweight.


No9: Tomas Brolin
Leeds fans thought they were ripped off when Brolin was unveiled as their new star signing. Once a lean, mean goalscoring machine for Sweden, the forward was a right porker by the time he turned up at Elland Road. After failing to shed his excess baggage in Yorkshire, he was also unable to revive his appetite for the game at Crystal Palace.


No8: Andy Reid
The Sunderland midfielder has a big belly as well as a lethal left foot. Managers swear that Reid is ultra-fit despite his extra tyre, although the fact that he failed to make the grade at Tottenham questions those views. The portly Irishman is back in the Premier League with the Mackems.


No7: Neil Ruddock
Ex-Liverpool and Tottenham defender Razor was not the sharpest with his diet. Beefy Ruddock was once transfer-listed by Swindon for being overweight, where he could not fit into his shorts: "The problem was there were numbers on the shorts and the previous No16 had a waist like Kylie Minogue.”


No6: Neville Southall
The plump Welshman was never the leanest of stars during his successful career. And by the time the Everton legend was winding down his career at Bradford, the effects of time were clearly evident. Yet, for all the jokes about his ballooning weight, there have been few better keepers than Southall.


No5: Ferenc Puskas
The Hungarian legend revealed that Real Madrid signed him despite him politely pointing out that he was 40lb overweight. The forward managed to reach the very top of the game despite possessing a body the same shape as a football. A party animal away from the pitch, the late Puskas would laugh at today’s dietary regimes.


No4: Jan Molby
The Liverpool midfielder proved a hit at Anfield even with his roly-poly physique. The Denmark star was a regular in the Reds’ midfield in the 80s and 90s, and is rightly hailed as a Kop legend, who cherish him for his contribution as much as his huge frame.


No3: Micky Quinn
The Coventry striker inspired the chant “He’s fat, he’s round, he’s worth a million pounds — Micky Quinn, Micky Quinn!” The rotund No9 was deadly for the Sky Blues despite being the butt of jokes from fans across the country. Quinn — or Sumo as he was nicknamed — called himself “the fastest player in the world over one yard.”


No2: William Foulke
Weighing in well at 24st by the end of his career, no wonder Foulke earned the nickname Fatty. The Sheffield United and Chelsea star was a giant at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the next. Foulke, who won the league with the Blades and appeared in three FA Cup finals, was a true hero of the game.


No1: Ronaldo
The Brazilian star tops this list because of his achievements in an over-sized body. The double World Cup winner and three-times World Player of the Year has been tipping the scales for years now. Knee injuries have not been kind to the AC Milan striker but neither has his love of food.