7 Muslim Footballers Who May Not Be Known To The Public

Miralem Pjanic is a Muslim player. (PHOTO/INSTAGRAM @miralem_pjanic)

JAKARTA It is undeniable that football is one of the most famous sports under the sky so it is not surprising that many of its players have gained such high popularity.

As famous names in this sport, the background of these players is sought after by their fans. No exception religion, as one of the most prominent sensitive features of the players.

Almost all football lovers know that Zinedine Zidane, Karim Benzema, Mesut Oezil, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Paul Pogba are players who embrace Islam. However, there are also other Muslim players who may rarely be known.

The following are seven Muslim footballers who may be rarely known to the public, as reported by Sportskeeda:

This name is one of the greatest African players of the last generation to have a successful career at various top European clubs. He is noted to have defended Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur.

The former striker was seen wearing a white robe and saying the sentence Syahadat, a ceremony in which someone expressed confidence in God's 'ownership and accepted Muhammad as his prophet', in 2015.

Anelka is one of the most talented strikers from France. He converted to Islam from Christianity when he was only 16 years old. Another fact that is not very well known is that Anelka even adopted the name Muslim Abdul-Salam Bilal in 1994.

"I feel this relationship with God, and it sheds light on my life. I have faith in my heart that it is my religion. I am happy to be a Muslim, a peaceful religion and I have learned a lot from Islam," he said.

The player belonging to Arsenal and the Swiss national team is an important part of the midfield of the North London team. He was bought from Borussia Monchengladbach for a transfer value of around 35 million.

Xhaka had a decent first season. Able to break up the game and organize attacks equally easily. Now he has become a very important player for the Gunners in recent seasons.

He did not hesitate to tackle his opponent. His presence in the middle of the field coupled with his playing skills gave a new dimension to Mikel Arteta's team.

Marouane Fellaini

The former Manchester United midfielder is a Muslim from birth. Born to Morocco's parents from Tangier and raised in Brussels, Fellaini had a successful period at Standard Liege and Everton before moving to Old Trafford and winning the FA Cup and the European League title.

Under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, Fellaini is often trusted by starters for airball duels because of his tall posture. The Belgium international left United in 2019 and joined Chinese club Shandong Luneng.

Eric Abidal

Eric Abidal is a fighter. The former Barcelona player fought cancer until he was able to return to play at the highest level again. He converted from Christianity to Islam in 2007 after marrying Algerian-born gymnast Hayet Kebir.

"Everything went naturally. The choice to convert to Islam was not because of my wife, but a gift that suddenly appeared. It really happened. I embraced Islam with full faith," he said.

Edin Dzeko

Dzeko embraced Islam from birth. The Bosnian striker was successful with Wolfsburg, Manchester City, AS Roma, and is now with Inter Milan. Dzeko had an amazing 2016/2017 season, where he scored 39 goals in 51 appearances.

In addition to being good in front of goal, Dzeko is also a polyglot player or good at several languages: Bosnia, Czech, German and English smoothly. He is often involved in various charity events and even an ambassador for UNICEF in his country.

Miralem Pjanic

Pjanic, like his compatriot Dzeko, has been a Muslim since birth. He was once bought by Juventus as a replacement for Paul Pogba.

In Turin he quickly adapted to his role as a playmaker for the Bianconeri. Pjanic has extraordinary technical abilities, playmaking skills, tactical versatility, and is good at taking free kicks.