While infidelity is not anything to be proud of, football has been riddled with its fair share of scandals.
Unconfirmed rumours have continued to swirl in the entertainment space concerning the love relationship between singer Rihanna and rapper and producer Rakim Nakache Mayers, better known by his stage name A$AP Rocky.
The rapper alleged to have cheated on his spouse – who is pregnant with their first child – with designer Amina Muaddi, could have set this ‘admired union’ toward an unwanted end, having pressed the infidelity button.
ALSO READ: Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s breakup rumours are untrue
While A$AP Rocky’s alleged affair with Muaddi is not anything to be proud of, football stars have had their fair share of scandals.
Meet six footballers who were caught cheating on their spouses.
Frank Ribery
In 2009, Zahia Dehar, an underage prostitute, was paid to fly to Paris and have sex with a French international, Frank Ribery as a birthday gift.
The then-Bayern Munich footballer became one of Zahia’s regular customers after meeting her in a Paris nightclub, despite being married to Wahiba, a French national of Algerian descent – since 2004.
Ribery later referred to his scandal and said: “It hurt my family, above all those close to me. That’s all I want to say.” He, alongside Karim Benzema, were charged with paying for sex with a girl under the legal age as Dehar was reported to have been 17-years at the time of her affair with the footballers.
Mesut Ozil
In 2014, the Turkish-German playmaker was accused of having a relationship with Melanie Rickinger, the girlfriend of his former teammate Christian Lell, despite being in a relationship with Mandy Capristo.
The rusty affair of the 2014 World Cup winner led to the end of his relationship with his girlfriend. In 2015, however, at the Bambi awards ceremony, Mesut and Capristo appeared together in Berlin, but again, broke up in 2017.
Ozil has since 2019, been married to former Miss Turkey, Amine Gulse. In March 2020, the couple confirmed the birth of their first child, a daughter named Eda.
Oliver Giroud
Despite getting married to his longtime American girlfriend Jennifer in 2011, the former Arsenal footballer was caught wearing just his underwear while in a hotel room with model Celia Kay in February 2014.
It was claimed that the night before an Arsenal match against Crystal Palace on February 2, the French footballer took Kay to the Four Seasons Hotel in Canary Wharf.
She then took a picture of the striker while in the hotel room. Giroud later apologized to his wife as well as his club but claimed that he had not committed adultery.
Patrice Evra
Despite having married his long-term partner Sandra, in 2007, Patrice Evra was claimed to have cheated on her with Playboy model Carla Howe in his hotel room in Paris in 2013.
Howe revealed that Evra, never once mentioned Sandra, his wife, or his six-year-old son Lenny. “He’d ring and text me every day. He acted like a boyfriend and never said he was married. He’d say, ‘You are beautiful and I must see you’. I loved it, and I thought we had something special. It was all lies. I feel terrible for his wife” said Carla Howe.
As of 2020, Evra and his wife are separated and he is engaged to Danish model Margaux Alexandra.
Royston Drenthe
Despite having his wife pregnant with their second child, the former Real Madrid winger cheated on her with Spanish Playboy model Malena Gracia.
Drenthe’s scandal saw him never recover from the setback as his career went down from there.
Having left Real Madrid in 2012, Drenthe went on to play for Alania Vladikavkaz, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, Kayseri Erciyesspor, Baniyas, Sparta Rotterdam, Kozakken Boys, and Racing Murcia. He currently plays for Real Murcia in the Spanish Segunda division – Group 5.
Ryan Giggs
Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs was one of the most respected footballers in the world before his shameful affair with his brother’s wife Natasha Giggs was exposed.
Ryan who was married to Stacey Cooke at the time, saw his wife leave him and his brother, Rhodri, cut him off.
While Natasha and Ryan Giggs tried to reconcile with Rhodri, Ryan reportedly told Rhodri that it was just sex and that the 8-year affair meant nothing. Due to the affair, Giggs and his wife Cooke finally divorced in 2017.
