Entertainment

How Soccer Players Wear Their Socks And What It Says About Their Playing Style

Socks: They’ve never been more celebrated. Whether it’s the “This Meeting Sucks” Happy Socks that your father discreetly wears to work or footballers risking it all to the tune of a $65,000 fine for wearing their beloved but banned hosiery at the World Cup, it’s all about covering your lil’ digits with the finest nylon. But how soccer players wear their socks has certainly come along way since the days slabbing together some leather or matted animal hair.

In the Laws of the Game, Law 4 stipulates that stockings must be worn. Also, any tape or material applied or worn externally must be the same color as the part of the sock which it covers. But that’s it, and so the tortured artist — usually the left winger — has been given historical license to express him or herself outside of the ol’ knee-high.  

Embed from Getty Images

And in today’s world — where you’re a unique and beautiful sleeve tattoo (just like everybody else) — individualism and self-expression reigns supreme, giving us an oddly diverse array of sock-wearing fetishes. Let’s run the gamut over how soccer players wear their socks and perhaps inspire you to not be so damn boring.

What’s your swag on the pitch? . . . #soccer #messi #neymar #muller #futbol

A post shared by The18 Soccer (@the18soccer) on

Above The Knee (“I’m chilly, but I’m also quite chill.”)

Neymar

Embed from Getty Images

John Terry

Embed from Getty Images

Carlos Salcedo

Embed from Getty Images

Thierry Henry

Embed from Getty Images

David Beckham

Embed from Getty Images

Sock-Compression Shorts Onesie (“I just don’t want to pull anything, OK?”)

Arjen Robben

Embed from Getty Images

Ronaldinho

Embed from Getty Images

Low Socks (*takes a drag* “It gives you a whole new way of looking at the day.”)

Francesco Totti

Embed from Getty Images

Jack Grealish

Embed from Getty Images

Kenedy 

Embed from Getty Images

Thomas Muller

Embed from Getty Images

Cut A Bunch Of Holes In Them ("I just want to provide media outlets with more SEO articles.")

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

TruSox ("I would give up my first born child in exchange for no-slip grip.")

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Way Too Much Tape ("If my shinguards so much as think about moving, I'm going to off myself.")

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Just An Average Bloke ("I'm just your average bloke.")

Lionel Messi

Embed from Getty Images

Gareth Bale

Embed from Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo

Embed from Getty Images

Videos you might like