10 World Football Players who Converted to Islam, including Clarence Seedorf and Danny Blum

Dream - Many world football players have decided to convert to Islam. Yes, a convert is someone who has newly entered Islam. Among the famous football players who converted to Islam are Clarence Seedorf, a former Surinamese-Dutch professional player, and Eric Abidal, who became the captain of Barcelona and France.

Their decision to become a convert certainly has their own reasons, one of which is to fulfill their spiritual needs. Not only that, these convert football players are also known to have Islamic names.

Even their status as Muslims is often shown when the players are competing on the field. Such as prostrating when they can score a goal.

So, who are the world football players who converted to Islam? Here is the list as compiled by Dream from various sources.

World Football Players who Converted to Islam

Clarence Seedorf

Clarence Seedorf or Clarence Clyde Seedorf is a former Surinamese-Dutch professional football player. Clarence is the only player to have won the UEFA Champions League trophy with three different teams.

In 2022, Clarence announced that he had converted to Islam. He is married to Sophia Makramati, who is of Iranian descent. And during their marriage, Clarence has learned a lot about Islam from his wife.

Thomas Partey

Thomas Partey, the main midfielder of Arsenal, decided to convert to Islam in 2022. Previously, Thomas himself was a Christian. He revealed that his decision to convert was because of his girlfriend, Sara Bella, whom he wanted to marry.

Thomas also said that he grew up among Muslims, so he was quite familiar with the activities carried out by Muslims, such as praying and fasting. Thomas also changed his name to Yakubu.

Franck Ribery

Franck Ribery is the star of Bayern Munich from 2007 to 2019. He decided to convert to Islam after marrying a French woman of Algerian descent named Wahiba.

It is known that Franck started learning about Islam when he played for his previous team, Galatasaray.

Nicolas Anelka

For football fans in France, the name Nicolas Anelka may not be unfamiliar. Not only his achievements, but Nicolas also gained attention when he converted to Islam in 2004.

Anelka was born in France and is an immigrant from Martinique, Central America. Since he was a child, he often interacted with other immigrant children of Algerian descent. Nicolas also has a new name, Abdul Salam Bilal.

Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba is a prominent football player who has been a part of top clubs like Juventus and Manchester United. Paul Pogba converted to Islam in 2012.

His mother introduced Paul to Islam. He felt a change in his life after embracing Islam. Paul has said that Islam is everything to him and he is grateful. He even performed the Hajj pilgrimage in 2017.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Former Arsenal star, Emmanuel Adebayor, is one of the world football players who converted to Islam. Emmanuel converted to Islam in 2015 due to family issues.

However, it turned out that the problem became a guidance for him to firmly embrace Islam. In addition to being diligent in performing religious duties, Emmanuel also often carries out social activities in his country.

Eric Abidal

Another famous football player who converted to Islam is Eric Abidal. The former Barcelona defender and French national team player converted to Islam in 2007 after marrying Hayet Kebir, a woman of Algerian descent.

It is known that Eric was previously a Catholic. Eric's decision to convert to Islam was due to a sudden guidance.

Frederic Kanoute

Frederic Kanoute is a former Sevilla striker who converted to Islam in 1999. He was only 20 years old at that time. After converting, it was revealed through Al Jazeera that Frederic, along with the Sevilla Mosque Foundation, raised around 1 million US dollars or around 14 billion Indonesian Rupiah. He donated 700,000 US dollars to build the first mosque in Seville.

Nathan Ellington

For Muslim football players competing in England, Nathan Ellington is quite well-known. Nathan is the founder of the Association of Muslim Footballers in England or AMF.

The establishment of AMF originated from Nathan's decision to convert to Islam after marrying a Bosnian woman named Alma in 2005. Nathan stated that his decision to convert was a personal choice.

Danny Blum

Danny Blum is a German football player who has played for FC Nurnberg in the 2nd Bundesliga. Danny converted to Islam in 2015. The decision came after he visited a mosque and found the beauty of Islam during his football career.