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Over the years, we have seen many brothers enjoy successful playing careers like the Phil and Gary Neville, Michael and Brian Laudrup, and even the Bender twins Lars and Sven among the active footballers. Even though one of the brothers garnered more fame than the other in some cases, both siblings are still well known among avid football fans. However, that is not always the case. Sometimes, brothers of famous footballers tend to live in the shadows of the other’s success and fail to make a similar impact. Take for example the case of Tomas Rosicky who gained stardom while playing for Arsenal, but his brother Jiri Rosicky who is also a professional footballer is relatively unknown. Here is a list of 10 famous footballers and their brothers who are also professional footballers, but not as famous as their siblings.
#1 Toni Kroos and Felix Kroos
Toni Kroos is a treble winner with Bayern Munich, a World Cup winner with Germany and was also one of the nominees for the Golden Ball during the FIFA World Cup last year. The German is now one of the first players on Real Madrid’s teamsheet and his name is known to most football fans. However, very few people know about Toni’s brother Felix, who plays for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.
Felix and Toni both played for Hansa Rostock before moving clubs. Toni moved to Bayern Munich in 2006 while Felix stayed with Rostock till 2010 before moving to Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.
Felix has been with Bremen since and has represented the club in the last five years. The 24-year-old has never represented the German senior team, but he played for the U-21 side once back in 2011.
#2 Wesley Sneijder and Rodney Sneijder
Although Manchester United tried to sign Wesley Sneijder on many occasions, another United managed to sign another Sneijder recently. We are talking about Wesley’s brother Rodney who recently signed for Dundee United in Scotland.
The elder brother Wesley is very famous among football fans as he has been one of the stars of the Netherlands football team and a treble winner with Intern Milan in 2010. Wesley, who is the second most capped player for the Oranje and has scored 28 goals as well.
Like his elder brother, Rodney started his career with Ajax. But after failing to impress with the Amsterdam club, he moved to other Dutch clubs before joining Dundee this summer. The 24-year-old has never made an appearance for the Dutch senior side and has only represented his country at the U-17 and U-19 levels.
#3 Bastian Schweinsteiger and Tobias Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger, who recently moved to Manchester United from his boyhood club Bayern Munich, is among the most recognizable figures in football. The 31-year-old was one of the stars of the German team that lifted the World Cup and was one of the key members of the Bayern side that went on to win the treble in 2013. However, Bastian is not the only Schweinsteiger who played for Bayern Munich in recent years.
The German midfielder has an older brother Tobias who last played for Bayern Munich II, which is the reserve team of Bayern Munich. Unlike his brother, Tobias has never represented the Bavarian’s senior team.
The 33-year-old has played for several teams in the lower leagues in Germany, but has never played in the Bundesliga nor has he represented Germany at any level. But like his famous brother Bastian, Tobias is also a Bayern Munich fan.
#4 Paul Pogba, Mathias Pogba and Florentin Pogba
Paul Pogba is one of the most coveted players in recent transfer windows. The Frenchman has taken giant strides in his career after leaving Manchester United to join Juventus and he has now won three league titles on the trot with Juventus. During this period, he was also named the Golden Buy in 2013 and the best young player at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
However, unlike Paul, his two brothers Mathias and Florentin who are twins and older than Paul, have struggled in their careers. Mathias has played for clubs in England, Scotland and Italy, before recently signing for Scottish club Patrick Thistle. Florentin, on the other hand, plays for French club Saint Etienne but is not a regular in the first team.
Paul is a star in the French National team, but his brothers have represented Guinea on the international stage, although Florentin previously played for the French U-20 side in 2011.
#5 Xabi Alonso and Mikel Alonso
Xabi Alonso is a World Cup and two-time Euro winner with Spain, Champions League winner with Liverpool and Real Madrid and has also won several other trophies with his clubs in England, Spain and Germany. The 33-year-old was also voted into FIFA’s team of the year twice, so his resume speaks for itself. The current Bayern Munich man started his career with Real Sociedad before moving to England.
Like Xabi, his elder brother Mikel was also a youth product of Real Sociedad and the brothers played for the Basque club together till 2004. Mikel continued with Sociedad and during this period he also went on loan to England to play for Bolton Wanderers. Upon leaving Sociedad, he played for Tenerife and later for Charlton Athletic, but never made an appearance for the English club.
After nearly two years without a club, Mikel joined Real Union in Spain and the 35-year-old still plays for the club.
#6 Luis Suarez and Paolo Suarez
Luis Suarez needs no introduction- the controversial striker who is also extremely talented has created a furore in the footballing world in recent years. He has won several individual honours in his career, like the PFA Player of the Year in 2014 and the Best Player award at the 2011 Copa America. But he topped all his individual achievements by winning the treble with Barcelona last season and even scored in the final of the UEFA Champions League.
The 28-year-old striker has an elder brother named Paolo Suarez with whom he shares a great connection. Paolo has spent his entire playing career with clubs in South America and he spent six years playing for Isidro Metapan in El Salvador.
Paolo, aged 35, plays as a midfielder or as a striker and represented Uruguay at the U-20 level in 1999. However, he was never able to play for the senior side and represented El Salvador on the international stage once in 2014.
#7 Sami Khedira and Rani Khedira
Sami Khedira was one of the members of the German team that lifted the World Cup in Brazil back in 2014. Khedira, who rose through the academy of Stuttgart in Germany, won the league with Stuttgart and later joined Real Madrid in 2010. He then went on to win the league, Champions league and the League Cup with the Spanish club before joining Juventus this summer.
Sami Khedira’s younger brother Rani Khedira is also a product of Stuttgart’s academy, but he didn’t go on to enjoy the same level of success with Stuttgart. He then went on to sign for Leipzig in 2. Bundesliga.
Rani has represented Germany at the U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19 level, but chances of playing for the German senior side look bleak. Howeve,r since the father of Sami and Rani is Tunisian, the 21-year-old is eligible to play for Tunisia’s national team.
#8 Mats Hummels and Jonas Hummels
Borussia Dortmund’s captain Mats Hummels was one of the nominees for the Golden Ball at the FIFA World Cup when Germany were crowned champions. The 26-year-old is a product of Bayern Munich’s famous academy but rose to fame after joining Borussia Dortmund, with whom he has won two league titles.
Mats has a younger brother Jonas Hummels, who like Mats played for Bayern’s academy. Upon leaving Bayern, things didn’t go as well as it did for his brother Mats. The 24-year-old joined SpVgg Unterhaching in 2008 and has played for the club ever since.
However, at the end of last season his club got relegated to the Bavarian Regional League, which is the German fourth division. The two brothers have had contrasting levels of success after leaving Bayern Munich.
#9 John Terry and Paul Terry
Aged 34, Chelsea’s captain John Terry is still among the finest defenders in the Premier League and he proved that last season with yet another inclusion in the Premier League Team of the Year. Terry has won almost every possible honour at club level with the Blues which includes the Premier League, the Champions League, the Europa League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
But not many people know John Terry’s elder brother Paul who played as a midfielder and spent his career playing for many lower league clubs. Most notably, he played for Dagenham and Redbridge for four years and then for Yeovil Town for another four years.
He retired in 2012 after one season with Thurrock. Paul was previously married to the sister of former Liverpool player Paul Konchesky.
