We reveal just who the most searched for football players last year were …
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Players: Best Footballers In the World Ever
10) John Terry (Chelsea)
The west London club’s captain is always making the headlines, and usually for incidents that happen off the pitch as opposed to on it.
However, last year was a comparatively quiet one for the powerful centre back, with no charges of racism leveled against him, which maybe explains why the Englishman is way down in tenth place on this list.
9) Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
The brilliant Belgium international has just enjoyed a quite wonderful past 12 months at Stamford Bridge, where the twinkle-toed playmaker was the undoubted star for the Blues.
However, the 23-year-old is not just a hero in west London, but all across the globe too, and it is the player’s brilliant displays on the field of play that sees him in at No 9 here.
8) Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
No real surprises to see the Dutchman’s name appear in this top ten, especially when one thinks back to the year the front man has just had in the red of Manchester United, particularly the first half of 2013.
As it was then that the prolific 30-year-old was really making all the headlines in the Premier League as his plethora of goals, many of them sublime efforts too, lit up the English top flight.
And just the forward’s Goal of the Season effort against Aston Villa last April will be have bene enough to see the player make this list.
7) Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
From one former Arsenal goalscoring legend to another, and even though the elegant Frenchman is now no spring chicken, aged 36, Titi is still as popular as ever with football fans around the world, and not just in north London or Paris either!
As a result, the playmaker was still the seventh most Googled footballer in the entire planet past 12 months, a year in which let’s face it, Henry barely made the news for his feats on the field of play.
All of which just goes to prove the enduring love affair with one if the greatest players the world has ever seen …
6) David Villa (Atletico de Madrid)
Despite the diminutive Spain international leaving one of Planet Football’s biggest clubs in July, the striker’s appeal around the world has clearly not diminished judging by these results, with Villa the sixth most searched for football player on Google last year.
And maybe that is because the 32-year-old has simply carried on doing what he does best since his switch to the Vincente Calderon, and that is banging in the goals for high-flying La Liga outfit Atleti.
5) Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
What an eventful year it has just been for the controversial Reds attacker, with the player seemingly in the headlines every week, and not for on-pitch matters either.
The Uruguayan has bitten Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on the arm in a Premier League match, for which he was hit with a much-publicised 10-match ban, flirted consistently with Arsenal throughout the summer.
And now the superstar has returned to action in eye-catching form, scoring some outrageous goals which on their own would explain his entry here in at No 5.
4) Tim Howard (Everton)
A real surprise entry here in at No 4, with the name of the Toffees’ shot stopper appearing.
The United States had a pretty uneventful past 12 months, although the 34-year-old is known for his huge following back home across the Pond with fans of the national team, which can be the only real explanation for the keeper’s high entry here.
3) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
There are not too many periods when the popular England international is not being talked about, whether it be the front man’s new haircut, his future at Old Trafford, or his collection of wonder goals.
In fact, Rooney would be expected to normally place fairly high on this list whatever the year, however, with the player’s much talked-about and very public row with former Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson towards the back end of the previous campaign, the 28-year-old has been bumped up to No 3 in this top-1o list.
2) Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC)
Again, another shock entry in the top five here, with the United States forward being the second most searched for footballer in the entire world last year.
Now, this surely must be related, as with his compatriot Howard before, to the fact that the 30-year-old moved back home to Major League Soccer franchise the Seattle Sounders FC from Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur last August.
1) Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
The captain of both the Los Angeles Galaxy and the United States national team was, to many people’s great surprise, the most Googled football player in the past 12 months, ahead of the likes of FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Neymar and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo!