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Winning the World Cup is regarded as the pinnacle of a professional footballer's career, and only a handful of players throughout history can count themselves among those who have achieved this feat.
While club football brings with it the fame and fortune of the modern-day game, there remains a certain allure to international football as for 90 minutes, you are representing millions of your compatriots on the field.
The fact that the World Cup comes along every four years means that winning it raises a footballer to a higher pedestal. It is a memory that all winners hold dear for the rest of their lives.
Considering the pedigree associated with World Cup winners, it stands to reason that they are almost always in the public light. However, this is not entirely the case.
Several factors such as having a final hoorah in one of the less-followed leagues, a loss of form, or just being usurped on the hierarchy by younger players means that some World Cup winners have fallen off public consciousness for some time.
While some World Cup winners like Paul Pogba, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappe continue to ply their trade on the biggest stages weekly, some of their teammates have fallen off the radar.
Here, we shall have a rundown of five World Cup winners you might not know are still active on the club scene.
#5 Adil Rami (Boavista FC)
Adil Rami was an unused member of the France squad that won the World Cup in Russia 2018. He announced his retirement immediately after the tournament, although he was strangely called up for subsequent matches (without making another appearance).
The presence of several established centre-backs like Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny and Samuel Umtiti meant that Rami did not become established on the international scene in his prime, and he retired with just 36 caps to his name.
Rami's club career has seen him represent several clubs across different European countries but he is mostly associated with his time in La Liga, where he spent five years between Valencia and Sevilla.
The Frenchman joined Russian side Sochi after terminating his contract with Fernabache in February 2020. However, with the season curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic soon after, he left Sochi without having played a single game.
These days, he plies his trade in the Portuguese Primeira Liga with unfancied Boavista. He has so far made five league appearances for the relegation-threatened side, although he has been sidelined by a muscle injury since December.
#4 Sami Khedira (Juventus)
Sami Khedira has had a storied career that has seen him win virtually everything at both club and international level.
Despite not being the most technically gifted player, the 33-year-old has tenacity and efficiency, which has seen him excel at the highest levels of the game.
Having begun his career with VfB Stuttgart, Khedira was named as a replacement for the injured captain Michael Ballack at the 2010 World Cup. He became a key component of the extremely youthful German side that captured imaginations.
He played in all Germany's games in South Africa and was an indisputable member of the team that reached the semi-final of Euro 2012 two years later.
Despite suffering a long-term ACL injury, Khedira recovered in time to be named in Germany's 2014 World Cup squad, although an injury sustained in the warm-up for the final saw him miss out on the showpiece event as his nation won their 4th world title.
Khedira's club career has also been highly decorated, with five successful seasons at Real Madrid followed by an equally trophy-laden spell with Juventus.
His career in recent years has, however, been blighted by injuries and a loss of form, limiting him to just 22 Serie A appearances across the last three seasons combined.
So far, Khedira is yet to get a single minute of action for the Bianconeri across all competitions, and it is easy to forget that he is still a member of the squad.
Latest reports in the media suggest that a move away from Turin could be on the cards for him, with Everton reportedly leading the race for his signature.
#3 Cesc Fabregas (Monaco)
In his prime, Cesc Fabregas was unarguably one of the finest attacking midfielders in the world. He was a key member of Spain's triumphant World Cup squad in 2010.
At his peak, he represented some of the biggest clubs on the continent, including Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea.
Fabregas was a delight to watch on his day, and there was no defence that could not be penetrated with his pristine through balls, while he was also a fairly decent goalscorer in his own right.
Having departed Chelsea in the summer of 2019, the former Spain international joined Ligue 1 side Monaco. Despite not being in the limelight again, he is still representing the Principality outfit to the best of his abilities, with 45 appearances made in all competitions.
#2 Andres Iniesta (Vissel Kobe)
Andres Iniesta granted himself immortality by scoring the winning goal in extra-time of the 2010 World Cup final to help Spain lift their first world title.
The former Barcelona captain is widely regarded by many as the greatest midfielder in history and rightly so. He redefined the role, with his pairing alongside Xavi catapulting club and country to previously unimagined heights.
The 36-year-old made 131 appearances for Spain before announcing his retirement after the 2018 World Cup. He was an ever-present as the Iberian nation transcended from perennial underachievers to arguably the greatest international side in history.
He spent 16 highly successful seasons with Barcelona and helped the club achieve what was its glorious era before departing in 2018, having won everything winnable on every stage.
He signed for J1 League side Vissel Kobe and has so far made 35 appearances in all competitions for the Japanese outfit, helping them to the Emperor's Cup and Japanese Super Cup.
#1 Lukas Podolski (Antalyaspor)
Unlike most of the players on this list, Lukas Podolski did not have too remarkable a club career. However, he always seemed to save his best for the international stage with Germany.
Nevertheless, he represented some elite sides like Bayern Munich and Arsenal, while spells were also taken in at Vissel Kobe, Galatasaray and hometown club FC Koln.
It was, however, with the German national team that he made his most telling impact, with 130 caps won between 2004 and 2017 - appearing at three World Cups - and scoring 49 goals in total.
His performance at the 2006 World Cup on home soil saw him named the Best Young Player at the tournament. Eight years later, he was one of the most experienced heads as Germany finally ended their 24-year wait for World Cup glory.
Having departed Vissel Kobe in 2019, Podolski signed a one-and-half-year contract with Turkish Super Lig side Antalyaspor in January 2020, and it is highly likely that this would be his last foray in club football.
