Back in 2002, ITV launched a television drama titled Footballers’ Wives, whose main subject matter concerned a fictional English Premier League club, its players, and of course their wives. Influenced by the lifestyles of some prominent real-life wives, such as Victoria Beckham, the characters were scandalous, often cold-hearted, and the show featured more gold diggers than California circa 1849. Although the label WAG had yet to come into the lexicon, the kind of stereotypes these women portrayed was nothing new. Footballers’ Wives was simply a medium to showcase these concepts to a larger audience.

The show lasted five seasons, and even managed a few spin-offs including a failed American pilot. All in all it helped make athlete’s significant others a more mainstream topic. Fast forward to 2006, when the term WAG took off. For those not familiar, it’s an acronym for Wives And Girlfriends. The phrase wasn’t a new one, having been kicked around for at least a few years, but the British Tabloid Press helped take it mainstream. Technically, the term is pretty self-explanatory, but practically it is a loaded phrase. If conjures visions of a woman who is a particular sort of predator and whose sole purpose in life is to bag a rich footballer and live to excess off the back of his income. Stereotypical characteristics of a WAG include notably fake tans, extraordinarily large sunglasses, expensive boutique fashion, and a compulsion to live life in the public eye.

Soon the Internet joined in, and websites were dedicated to these women, appreciating the beauty they bring and mocking the crazy that comes along with it. We here at Gunaxin claim to be no different. While we realize that many of these women are vapid and shallow, many still manage to look incredible. What follows is our ranking of the Top 100 Footballer Wives and other girlfriends from the world of soccer. To annoy both sides of the Atlantic, I will continually alternate between calling the sport football and soccer.

Sorry Keeley, you didn't qualify

The criteria to qualify is simple, just date a professional soccer player. While I’d love to restrict the rankings to current WAGs, its too hard to keep up with all the comings and goings with the various relationships across many countries. That, and the fact I really don’t care about such information. Celebrity gossip is best left to others actually interested in such stuff. What I’m here for are the beautiful ladies. And while I made a good faith effort to keep the relationships listed below up to date, I offer no guarantee on their accuracy. To account for this, the Top 100 below includes current and former girlfriends. All you need is to have dated a footballer, past or present. As the saying goes, “Once a WAG, always a WAG.” But that’s where I draw the line. Fictional relationships, like how Chelsea’s Joe Cole tried to seduce Keeley Hazell doesn’t pass the standard. So as much as it pains me, Keeley is not a WAG. Although the Joe Cole story does have a nice ending (allegedly), as apparently another potential suitor wasn’t too thrilled with Cole’s advances and decided to pummel him until he escaped out a window.

Anyhow, here’s our Top 100 Footballer Wives and Girlfriends: 

100. Victoria Beckham

Significant Other: married to David Beckham (A.C. Milan on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy)

I was tempted to not include Posh Spice at all. On one hand, she’s gone all Jenna Jameson on us, and that’s not good. When you look like you hail from another planet, something’s gone wrong. But she still has her moments, and she’s an important historical figure from the World of WAGs, often dubbed the Queen of WAGs. So she gets some credit for that. Plus by cracking the list, I can forego all the comments about “where’s Posh?” The less talked about she is, the better (except I just talked about her ruining that whole point).  

99. Andreea Raicu

Significant Other: dated Cristian Chivu (Inter Milan)

This Romanian model and television hostess got her start by winning the prestigious International Elite Model Look Contest. Since that time she’s been twice voted the sexiest woman in Romania, so she’s doing something right. In order to maintain her slim figure she supposedly does without fat, pork, and many breads. Instead she favors fish and natural juices. Doesn’t she know that you don’t win friends with salad? Like any good WAG, she’s done television hosting as well, presiding over the first two seasons of Big Brother in Romania. You can find out more about her and possibly do some cyber-stalking on her Facebook page.  

98. Martina Stella

Significant Other: dated Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)

Although married, the Romanian striker has been seen on the town with the Italian television and film actress. Her mistress role makes her a dubious WAG, but we’re willing to bend the roles a bit. As an actress, Stella’s roles have mainly been in Italian, but she at least seems to be an actual, legit actress (as opposed to a showgirl who takes her boobs to a movie). She even landed a small role in the Hollywood hit Ocean’s Twelve (even if it’s considered the worst of the trilogy) and can be seen in award-winning director Rob Marshall’s upcoming film Nine. One reviewer even compared her to “a young Reese Witherspoon,” which I assume was meant as a compliment and not an insult about her chin.  

97. Carly Zucker

Significant Other: fiancée of Joe Cole (Chelsea)

Zucker literally means sugar in German, and Carly certainly looks sweet. She makes her living as a fitness trainer, and doesn’t carry around the typical WAG baggage. But I’ll admit that she just doesn’t do it for me looks wise. At least not as much as these other girls. However, she has a number of supporters, and I simply couldn’t leave her off this ranking. The picture above is from her Lynx campaign (with the questionable ad slogan “Unleash the Man Leather”), where she did her best Raquel Welch cavewoman impression.  

96. Daniela Fontani

Significant Other: girlfriend of Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina)

Fontani competed in the Miss Italia pageant last year, which you’ll quickly notice is a common theme among Italian WAGs. She didn’t win the crown, but she did land Alessandro Gamberini. At 20, she’s at the young end of the women on this list, which probably means she’s just getting started dating footballers. Could Pippo Inzaghi be in her future? I can’t wait until she starts showing up on bizarre Italian programming or shedding her clothes like any good Italian WAG.   

95. Isabel Figueira

Significant Other: ex-wife of César Peixoto (Sporting Clube de Braga)

Full name Ana Isabel Teixeira Laranjo Figueira, the Portuguese model and TV presenter managed to tame playboy César Peixoto, at least for a little while. Married in 2005, they were divorced by 2007 after the birth of their first child. At least Peixoto’s colleagues noticed the engagement had a significant effect on his focusing abilities. how he gets by these days is anyone’s guess.  

94. Diana Chaves

Significant Other: dating César Peixoto (Sporting Clube de Braga)

And this is why Peixoto left Figueira. Diana Morais Rosado Quintela Chaves is an ex-professional swimmer, who’s apparently developed a taste for footballers. She’s been linked to Cristiano Ronaldo (who hasn’t?) and seemed to have some sort of relationship with Sporting’s Miguel Veloso. When not chasing down athletes, she can be seen on Portuguese television, where her roles have included a turn on the soap Morangos com Açúcar (”Strawberries with Sugar”) and the drama A Outra (”To Another One”). I can’t say I’ve seen either of these programs, but a soap opera and a WAG is a good combo. Just wait until the Hollyoaks girls come around. 

93. Kate Lawler

Significant Other: dated Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur)

Here’s something anyone can appreciate: Lawler ran the 2008 London Marathon. Not impressive enough? She did it in lingerie. Although not because she wanted to, it was part of an effort to raise money for a Cystic Fibrosis charity. A former IT Support worker, Lawler rose to fame after winning the third British season of Big Brother. Since then she’s worked as a television presenter and personality, a model, and mostly as a disc jockey. Her MySpace page claims she’s “unquestionably one of the most in demand and popular female DJ’sinthe UK today.” I’d rather hire her than some sweaty overweight dude.  

92. Alessia Fabiani

Significant Other: dated Alessio Tacchinardi (Brescia most recently)

Being Italian is often pretty good. There’s great food, solid weather, and apparently and endless supply of hot women. Alessia Fabiani is what’s I’ll call Exhibit B. The presenter of Italy’s Champions League coverage, she became famous as Letterina on the Italian comedy Passaparola. And like many of the Italian WAGs, she seems to have little problem losing her clothing. Viva l’Italia!  

91. Maggie Q

Significant Other: dated Hidetoshi Nakata (retired)

Full name Maggie Denise Quigley, moviegoers might recognize her from her various films, which include blockbusters like Live Free or Die Hard and Mission: Impossible III. Despite her recent success, it did take her a while to make it in Hollywood. The American born actress got her start modeling in Japan, and eventually branched out into Taiwan and Hong Kong. Her transition into acting was almost coincidental, starting with Hong Kong cinema and later adding other locales in East Asia. She had become a big name in Hong Kong, along with garnering a certain amount of fame across Asia, before making a name for herself in the States. It was during this time that she dated Japanese superstar footballer Hidetoshi Nakata, one of the most famous Asian footballers of his generation.  

Continue Reading for the Top 90……

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