Some football players changed their names due to several reasons and get popular with their new generated names.

While others uses a nickname, some change their names due to circumstances with family or just things they fell in love with.

Here are some famous players who changed their names;

DELE ALLI:

Changed his name to DELE because he felt no connection to his surname. “I wanted a name on my shirt that represented who I am and I feel I have no connection with the Alli surname”, he said and quoted.

HULK:

Born Givanildo Vieira de Sousa. He changed his name because of his physique and his father being a fan of the 1978 TV show about the iconic comic book.

PEPE:

Born Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira. “My name in Brazil is quite difficult to pronounce. My coach and my father and called me Pepe because it was easier. And that how it has stayed“.

KAKA:

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. His younger brother, a former Brazilian defender failed to pronounce the name ‘Ricardo’ when he was a child, and ended up calling him ‘Caca’. This eventually morphed into ‘Kaka’.

Ronaldo Luís Nazario de Lima:

Used to be called Ronaldinho meaning (a little Ronaldo) because of a Sao Paulo centre-back named Ronaldo Guiaro, the forward used a nickname so that they could be differentiated. Changed it later on when the other Ronaldinho made his Brazil debut.