Fans Have Shared Football Facts That Sound Fake But Are Actually True

Everyone loves a football fact that not many are aware of and so back in April 2020, in the peak of the self-isolation boredom period, one chap got a serious discussion going on Twitter by asking folks to share footballing facts that sound "extremely fake" but are in fact legitimate.

A whole host of mad facts about many different players and teams surfaced and so here are ten of the very best.

1. Philipp Lahm avoided fouls for over a year.

The Bayern Munich and Germany legend was a master in reading the game and went 13 months without giving away a foul between September 2015 and October 2015 in the Bundesliga. Silly.

2. Jose Mourinho didn't win the Manager of the Month award in two of his three Premier League title wins.

The Portuguese manager didn't pick up the coveted gong despite leading his side to victory. He has won the award three times in his career, twice in his debut, title-winning 2004/05 campaign and once in 2006/2007.

3. Neymar won the La Liga player of the month award before Lionel Messi did

Interestingly the Brazilian beat his teammate to the gong after it was introduced in 2013. Neymar won it in 2013, with Messi winning it in January 2016 and going on to collect it a further six times.

4. Manchester United have NEVER lost a Premier League game at Old Trafford after leading at half-time

If Manchester United are winning at half-time at home in the Premier League, there's next to no chance of them losing.

5. Theo Walcott has more Champions League goals than a plethora of legends

The former Arsenal man has notched 15 times in Europe's premier competition, which is more than the likes of Ronaldo Nazario, Zinedine Zidane, Miroslav Klose, David Villa, Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard.

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored in every minute

The pair of footballing legends are the only two players in history to have scored a goal in every single minute (1-90) of a game.

7. Zlatan has played for six teams to have won the European Cup/Champions League but hasn't won it himself.

Sticking with the Swede, Ibrahimovic has played for AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester United, Ajax and Malmo - all European Cup winners - but he has failed to win it himself.

8. Spain won the World Cup scoring just eight goals

There was a period where La Roja dominated international football and won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa under Vicente del Bosque. However, you might be surprised to learn they only scored eight goals on their way to victory.

9. Gary Lineker never received a yellow card in his career

The England legend's perfect disciplinary record means he has had more s**ts on the pitch than he has had cards in his decorated career.

10. Steve Bruce once scored 19 goals from centre-back in a season

The former Newcastle boss captained Manchester United back in the day and was the club's top scorer in 1990/91, notching 13 goals in the league.

11. Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale and Kevin Davies are the only three players to have scored, assisted and put through their own net in same game.

It's not exactly a stat to shout about but all three men have completed the unwanted hat-trick in a game and are the only ones to do so.

12. Kingsley Coman has won the league in every year he's been a professional

Three different clubs, eleven consecutive league titles. The Frenchman won back-to-back titles with PSG after making his debut in the 2012/13 season, lifted the 2014/15 Scudetto with Juventus and then seven Bundesliga titles on the trot with Bayern Munich.

13. Stefan Schwarz had a bizarre "Space clause" in his Sunderland contract

There's release clauses and there's this. The Swede returned to English football by joining Sunderland from Valencia in a £4 million move. Remarkably, one of the details of the deal stated that if he were to travel into space his contract would become invalid.

14. Jose Mourinho went nine years out without losing a home game

In his absolute pomp, 'the Special one' went nine years and 150 games without tasting defeat on home soil.

Incredibly, the Portuguese manager took charge of four different clubs in this period.

15. Real Madrid beat their own reserve side in the 1980 Copa Del Rey final

Los Blancos have won the Copa Del Rey on 19 occasions but their 1980 triumph is infamous because their opponents in their final were Real Madrid Castilla, who they beat 6-1 at the Bernabeu.