Alongside their impressive technical ability and speed on the ball, footballers are renowned for their fantastic physique and handsome looks. However, there is a long-lasting debate over the best-looking sportsmen in the top flight of English football, with fans lusting over various players – particularly on social media. Fortunately, FootballBreak has stepped in to settle the debate once and for all, using science.
Eager to discover which Premier League footballers are truly the most attractive according to science, the experts at FootballBreak conducted a study of 582 players’ facial features, measuring these against the golden ratio formula (a mathematical symmetry algorithm that influences the human perception of attractiveness).
To determine which players were most attractive, each player was then given a golden ratio score, which was then translated into a final score percentage based on how close their score was to the ‘perfect score’. These percentage scores were then tallied and ranked to reveal the most attractive Premier League footballers overall, as well as the most attractive players per Premier League team.
The Most Attractive Premier League Footballers Overall, According To The Golden Ratio
Jakub Moder who plays as a midfielder for Brighton and Hove Albion was revealed to be the most attractive Premier League footballer overall, based on the golden ratio. Aged just 22, the Polish footballer was given a golden ratio percentage score of 90.82% for his facial features and spacing using the mathematical formula – the highest of all of the players studied.
Spanish Watford footballer Kiko Femenía ranked as the second most attractive Premier League player of those studied, having been awarded a golden ratio percentage score of 90.4% for his facial composition. However, Femenía isn’t the only scientifically attractive sportsman on his team, since Danish footballer Philip Zinckernagel who also plays for Watford (when not on loan) received a similarly impressive golden ratio percentage score (89.75%), making him the third most attractive Premier League player according to the golden ratio formula.
This position was actually shared with Çaglar Söyüncü, who plays for Leicester City Football Club, since he was also awarded a golden ratio percentage score of 89.75%.
However, it would appear that Watford have by far the most scientifically attractive professional footballing squad, since Francisco Sierralta followed in the footsteps of teammates Femenía and Zinckernagel to place as the fifth most attractive Premier League player according to the golden ratio. In fact, the Chilean defender received an impressive percentage score of 89.18% for his facial features.
Meanwhile, Przemyslaw Placheta ranked as the sixth most attractive Premier League footballer according to the golden ratio. The Polish born footballer who plays for Norwich City received a golden ratio percentage score of 88.53%.
The first goalkeeper on the list, Kepa Arrizabalaga who plays for Chelsea scored the spot of the seventh most attractive Premier League player according to the golden ratio. The Spanish professional received a golden ratio percentage score of 88.37% for his facial composition, followed shortly by Ryan Astley of Everton, whose score of 88.35% placed him as the eighth most attractive according to the science.
With a golden ratio percentage score of 88.1%, Joseph Willock who plays for Newcastle United (and previously Arsenal) placed as the ninth most attractive footballer according to the golden ratio. Meanwhile, Shane Duffy of Brighton and Hove Albion ranked as the tenth most attractive Premier League player based on golden ratio calculations.
The Most Attractive Premier League Footballer From Each Team, According To The Golden Ratio
Arsenal
Joseph Willock ranked as Arsenal’s most attractive player according to the Golden ratio, placing in ninth. He was followed shortly by Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey from the club who had respective golden ratio percentages of 86.06% and 81.31%.
Aston Villa
According to the golden ratio, Emiliano Buendia was Villa’s most attractive footballer. The Argentine received a golden ratio percentage score of 84.28% for his facial composition.
Brentford
With Brentford’s recent promotion bringing the team into the Premier League, Mads Bidstrup placed among the top 20 most attractive footballers in the top flight of English football, placing in 19th according to the golden ratio. However, this also made him Brentford’s most attractive player based on the science, with a golden ratio percentage of 85.76%.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Jakub Moder was Brighton and Hove Albion’s most attractive footballer according to the science of the golden ratio, with an impressive overall percentage score of 90.82% that also renders him the most attractive Premier League sportsman according to the ratio overall.
Burnley
Max Thompson was revealed to be Burnley’s most attractive player according to the golden ratio, with an overall percentage score of 87.05% for his facial features.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s most attractive footballer based on the golden ratio was found to be Kepa Arrizabalaga, with a golden ratio percentage of 88.37%. He was followed shortly by teammates Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic.
Crystal Palace
Belgian born Christian Benteke ranked as Crystal Palace’s most attractive footballer based on the golden ratio, having been awarded a percentage score of 77.9% based on the calculations.
Everton
Ryan Astley was revealed to be Everton’s most attractive footballer according to the golden ratio, having achieved an impressive percentage of 88.35% – a score which landed him as the eighth most visually appealing player in the Premier League overall, according to the science.
Leeds United
Jamie Shackleton was Leeds United’s most attractive footballer in line with the golden ratio, receiving a percentage score of 87.09%. He was followed by the likes of Stuart Dallas and Kalvin Philips, who had percentage scores of 85.32% and 84.42% respectively.
Leicester City
Çaglar Söyüncü was revealed to be Leicester City’s most attractive player according to the golden ratio with a percentage score of 89.75%.
Liverpool
Leighton Clarkson was the most attractive player for Liverpool according to the golden ratio, with a golden ratio percentage score of 77.32%.
Manchester City
Patrick Roberts was revealed to be Manchester City’s most attractive player according to the science behind the golden ratio. The English professional footballer received a percentage score of 85.21% based on the golden ratio formula.
Manchester United
Despite currently being on loan, James Garner was still revealed to be Manchester United’s most attractive footballer according to the golden ratio, with a percentage score of 82.6%. He was followed shortly by Ethan Galbraith and David de Gea, who also ranked among the club’s most attractive players based on the science.
Newcastle United
According to the golden ratio, Matt Richie is Newcastle United’s most attractive footballer. The sportsman was awarded a golden ratio percentage score of 85.32% for his facial features.
Norwich City
Norwich City’s most attractive footballer according to the science of the golden ratio was polish-born Przemyslaw Placheta, who received a golden ratio percentage score of 88.53% for his facial features.
Southampton
Fraser Forster was revealed to be Southampton’s most attractive footballer according to the golden ratio, with the English footballer achieving a golden ratio percentage score of 82.9%.
Tottenham Hotspur
Of Tottenham Hotspur, Sergio Reguilón was the most attractive player based on the golden ratio, followed shortly by Harvey White and Alfie Devine. The Spanish footballer who has previously played for the likes of Real Madrid was awarded a golden ratio percentage score of 86.87%, making him the club’s most visually appealing sportsman based on the science.
Watford
Kiko Femenía ranked as Watford’s most attractive footballer according to the golden ratio, with a high percentage score of 90.4% that also places him as the second most attractive in the Premier League overall.
West Ham United
Aaron Cresswell was revealed to be West Ham United’s most attractive player, with a golden ratio percentage score of 86.22%. He was followed shortly by Declan Rice and Pablo Fornals who received respective scores of 82.33% and 81.54%, rendering them the second and third most attractive West Ham players according to the golden ratio.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Of all of the Wolves players, Taylor Perry was revealed to be the club’s most attractive sportsman according to the golden ratio. He was awarded a golden ratio percentage score of 80.75% for his facial composition.
Methodology:
- Footballbreak.co.uk extracted official images of every Premier League footballer for the upcoming 2021/2022 season to establish through a mathematical equation which footballers are considered the most attractive.
Source utilised: https://www.premierleague.com/players?se=418&cl=1
- Only the front-facing headshots containing no face coverings or headgear were used to perform the golden ratio calculation in order to avoid any discrepancies. Players with no available photos from the official Premier League site were instead found through their team’s official website and images not available on the team’s site were excluded from the study – which gave an overall 582 football players to study.
- Please note that the club of each player is classified as their parent club, not their loan club. For example, Philip Zinckernagel’s club is classed as Watford for the purposes of this study, despite him being on loan at Nottingham Forest.
- Please also note that players are classified as ‘Premier League’ footballers for their club irrespective of how many Premier League appearances they have made for them. They will be classified as Premier League players if their parent club is a Premier League team at the time of the study, in line with the official data provided by the Premier League.
- To rank each player’s attractiveness, the mathematical formula of the golden ratio was utilised using Python library to detect different facial landmarks across the human face.
- A specialised in-house formula was designed to obtain an approximation of the golden ratio for each athlete’s facial features in accordance with facial landmarks from the image analysis recognition library.