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For the most advanced species on this side of the universe, we humans are surprisingly easy to deceive. There are so many misconceptions and myths surrounding nearly every topic on earth, including football, and none of those legendary tales are lacking staunch believers.
Perhaps the internet - social media, if we're really pointing fingers - is to blame for the continual dissemination of blatantly untrue facts. These facts have, over time, become such common knowledge because of how many times they've been repeated, shared, and retweeted.
There are so many legendary (but untrue) stories and folklore in world football that would put the fake news trend to shame, and in this article, we'll try to uncover a number.
So, let's delve into the fascinating world of unbelievable myths, misconceptions, and legends, and uncover the truths that have remained poorly hidden under our noses all this time!
10. Mario Balotelli
Yes, you read that correctly! Ironically, most of what you've heard about Mario Balotelli isn't even remotely true.
He never dressed as Santa Claus, handing out money to the public. He never went into a petrol station to fill the tank of every nearby car. He never gave £1,000 to a homeless man outside a casino. He's openly said that these stories are untrue, but nearly a decade later, people remain steadfast in their beliefs.
There's a rumor that Balotelli helped a young student who had skipped class in order to avoid a schoolyard bully. While the Italian star did visit the school (just to use the restroom!), the stories about the bully are unfounded.
Similarly, it's long been claimed that the police found Balotelli in possession of £5,000 and that when asked why he had so much money on him, the star replied, "Because I am rich." This story hasn't been confirmed either.
Some stories are true though: Fireworks started a fire in his home, he drove a Ferrari on a go-kart track, and he couldn't figure out how to wear a bip during training!
9. Americans were the first to call football "soccer"
There's a common misconception around the word soccer. Most of us believe that Americans coined the word, just because they already had football - you know, the one played with pads, helmets, an oval-shaped ball, and hardly any feet!
Honestly, no one would be too shocked if that was the story behind the word soccer, but (sadly) there's a lot more to it.
The word soccer has its roots firmly placed in nearly two hundred years of football history - the earliest period of organized football in England. It's a shortened version of association football, which is the full name of our beloved sport.
In fact, soccer remained in use across opulent British social circles until the 1970s when it became popular in America. Football eventually became universal, while Americans remained steadfast in their use of soccer. Go USA!
8. The shirt sales of star players can pay off their transfer fees
First off, no, that's not how it works!
There were popular social media claims, especially during Zlatan Ibrahimovic's move to the French capital and Paul Pogba's move to Manchester United, that shirt sales would pay off the transfer fees of the players.
Right now, there are United fan accounts on social media claiming that Raphael Varane's shirt sales will cover his transfer fee to Manchester United. Fun fact: No, it won't!
In reality, clubs receive only 7.5% to 10% of money generated from shirt sales. Much of the money goes to manufacturers and sporting behemoths like Adidas and Nike. In rare cases, like Liverpool's lastest deal with Nike, clubs can get up to 20% of the generated money.
Liverpool's new five-year £150 million ($200m) deal will give them £30m a year, clearly not enough to upset the transfer costs of any first team purchases they might make this transfer window.
7. Manchester City Ruined Football
If you haven't heard the rumors about the Citizens ruining football, then you haven't spent any time on Football Twitter. The seeds of the accusation were sown in 2008 when billionaire and UAE deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour bought the club.
Man City started purchasing quality players, luring them in with lucrative wage deals and benefits. However, so did other clubs. In reality, City didn't play a large part in the evolution of the transfer market. While they have paid high transfer fees for a good number of players, all those players have exceeded expectations and played at the highest level.
The Champions League finalists don't even show up in the top 10 most expensive transfers in world football. Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG are all over the place, with Manchester United making a rare appearance for Paul Pogba.
If any fingers should be pointed at any club for ruining football, then maybe Phillipe Coutinho's €145m move to Barcelona should be mentioned. The highlight of the former Liverpool star's Blaugrana career was scoring two goals against Barcelona while on loan at Bayern Munich.
6. Chelsea were a mid-table team until Roman Abramhovic
Many Blues supporters would certainly have become quite bored of hearing peddled tales about Roman Abramovich bringing the club out of mid-table obscurity and into the echelons of Premier League football.
And they would have a good reason!
When the Russian billionaire did acquire the club in 2003, and did pump in money to bring in some of the Chelsea legends we've all come to love and respect, he did not kickstart their success. No, the Blues already had three FA Cups, two League Cups, two UEFA Cups, and even a league title before Abramovich came on board..
The current Champions League winners weren't a mid-table club before 2003, seeing as they had never gone below 6th place in the league since 1997.
Fans will certainly be happy with the Russian's interest in club affairs, especially after Thomas Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard as head coach and led the club to their first Champions League title in nearly a decade.
5. Roy Keane's tackle ended Alf-Inge Haaland's career
There's no way to excuse that horrible tackle from Roy Keane in April 2001. The Manchester United captain was set on serving revenge, and he hurt Alf-Inge Haaland badly. However, while Haaland did play the rest of the match, Keane received a straight red for his trouble.
So why are there rumors that Keane ended Haaland's career? That's mainly because of Haaland's decision to hang up his boots in 2003, due to injury problems.
Notably, Keane's tackle affected his right knee, which ended up okay. Haaland's persistent injury problems affected his left knee instead. Had the left knee not had any issues, Haaland might have given us a few more seasons.
4. The most dangerous scoreline in football: 2-0
I'll admit here that I have consistently peddled this particular misconception for a very long time. Yes, I was once ignorant about this too!
It's a scene you've surely witnessed before: The game starts with an attacking flourish from your team, while the opponents seem unable to string three complete passes. Calculated incisiveness from your favorite playmaker hands you the first goal, while a defender heads in the second from a corner. Two goals up in the first half! You're winning!
Then, thoughts of your opponents making one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of football suddenly come to mind and plague you for the entirety of half-time. After all, 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline, right?
While opponents scoring three goals in the second half will become the most talked-about comeback on social media throughout the season, there's no proof that this is often the case.
In reality, most of the teams that picked up a 1-0 lead in the first half will do their best to cling to it, rather than push for a second goal immediately. Bigger teams that play with high attacking prowess, however, don't usually stop scoring after the first goal. They drive for the second, third and fourth, barely leaving their opponents a chance to score a well-placed consolation goal, much less start a comeback.
There are rare occasions when a team drops a 2-0 lead and ends the match losing 2-3. Remember, it's because these comebacks are rare that they're often talked about with so much excitement. Not because they began with a dangerous scoreline.
3. The "Last Man" Red Card Misconseption
The counter-attack ensues with pace and incisive through-passes. Within 6 seconds, the ball has gone from one end of the pitch to the other in a dangerous manner. Suddenly, the striker's pace puts him ahead of the opposing defenders, right in the position to face an onrushing goalkeeper. Before he can place the ball around the goalie's outstretched frame, his leg is tripped by a defender behind him, and the ref blows the whistle!
Commentators ask their colleague, "Was he the last man?" while fans are screaming for the referee to brandish the red card because, "Can't you see he was the last man!"
In reality, whether that defender was the last man or not is entirely meaningless to the ref's decision to give a straight red. Being the last man to tackle a player is not a red card offense. Seriously, look it up.
The red card is only awarded in such a situation if a player prevents a clear goalscoring opportunity. More often than not, however, it is the last defender who is in a position to prevent such an opportunity.
The last man could commit a foul on the halfway line, but he might only pick a yellow card (or no card at all).
So, take note, tackling a player one-on-one with the goalkeeper will almost always be deemed a sending off offense, whether the player who committed the foul was the last man or not.
2. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was Portsmouth FC's First Goalie
Sir Doyle is, perhaps, one of the most brilliant literary minds to come out of the UK. Sherlock Holmes, our beloved fictional detective, was created by Doyle, and has long evolved into a good part of pop culture, especially after numerous Hollywood adaptations.
So, how is it that there exists a longstanding and widely-held belief about the legendary crime fiction writer in connections with a historic English club? Yes, apparently, it is believed that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the first goalkeeper in the history of the 2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth.
While it is true that the late author was a keen sportsman and a goalkeeper, Sir Doyle only played at an amateur level for Portsmouth AFC, a team which disbanded in 1886. Neither the team nor the man have any connections to modern day Portsmouth FC who were founded two years later.
1. Pele’s goal record was due to no offside rules
There is nary a football fan who has no basic knowledge of the footballer that is Brazil's Pele. Earlier this year, the world legend congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo on breaking his official record of 767 goals throughout his career.
Many pundits and fans alike have argued - albeit ignorantly - that Pele would never have scored so many goals if he had played by offside rules. It's a general misconception that during the period Pele played (1957 - 1977), the offside rule largely hadn’t been introduced.
However, this is as untrue as every other myth you've read thus far.
The offside rules were more difficult when Pele played! In 1925, the rules were amended so that a player would be offside unless at least two opponents were in front of him, and that rule didn't evolve till 1990.
That Pele scored as many goals as he did while having two opponents in front of him is a testament to just how good he was!
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been luckier to play with evolved offside rules, so they only have to be level with the last man. If they had played in Pele's era, it's unlikely that they would have scored as many goals as Pele did!
