This isn’t perhaps the most obvious question you’d ever think of when discussing footballers!
But recently – to help get people reading through the Reading Stars scheme – some of the sport’s biggest stars have picked their favourite books. So we thought we’d show you the results!
Football stars like Tottenham’s Niko Kranjcar seem to have real taste, picking classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and Harry Potter.
QPR’s Joey Barton also impressed with his choice of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Chris Smalling from Manchester United would have many agreeing with his choise of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, books about football were very popular. Tim Cahill from Everton chose The Smell of Football by Mick Rathbone and Chris Kirkland flattered fellow goalkeeper Brad Friedel by choosing his book Thinking Outside the Box.
However, we must say we were disappointed with a number of stars, including Theo Walcott and Mark Schwarzer, who chose their own books as their favourites!
Here’s the full list:
| Player | Adult book selection | Kids book selection |
| Theo Walcott (Arsenal) | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling | TJ and the Hat-trick by Theo Walcott |
| Barry Bannan (Aston Villa) | David Beckham: my side by David Beckham | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl |
| Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers) | The Marks of Cain by Tom Know | Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! by Kyle Mewburn |
| Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers) | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | The Twits by Roald Dahl |
| Josh McEachran (Chelsea) | Mr Messy by Roger Hargreaves | El Diego by Diego Maradona |
| Tim Cahill (Everton) | The Smell of Football by Mick Rathbone | BFG by Roald Dahl |
| Mark Schwarzer (Fulham) | Destined To Live by Ruth Greuner | Megs and the Vootball Kids by Neil Montagnana-Wallace and Mark Schwarzer |
| Charlie Adam (Liverpool) | May I have your attentions please? by James Corden | Quack! Quack! by Roger Priddy |
| Owen Hargreaves (Manchester City) | The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho | The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss |
| Chris Smalling (Manchester United) | The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling |
| Mike Williamson (Newcastle United) | Bob Wilson’s Ultimate Collection of Sporting Lingo by Bob Wilson | Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll |
| David Fox (Norwich City) | Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre | The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson |
| Joey Barton (QPR) | Dracula by Bram Stoker | The Witches by Roald Dahl |
| Carlo Nash (Stoke City) | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl | Family Adventures in Style by Dr Jill Nash and Carlo Nash |
| John O’Shea (Sunderland) | The Runaway Jury by John Grisham | Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl |
| Leon Britton (Swansea City) | An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington | James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl |
| Niko Kranjcar (Tottenham Hotspur) | To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling |
| Paul Scharner (West Bromwich Albion) | The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas | The Gruffalo’s Child/The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson |
| Chris Kirkland (Wigan Athletic) | Thinking Outside the Box by Brad Friedel | Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton |
| Stephen Ward (Wolverhampton Wanderers) | Digital Fortress by Dan Brown | The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson |