he dream of every professional footballer to play in a football club, win trophies, awards and represent their national team.

Unfortunately, not all players get to live the dream. Some players don't get to win trophies or awards. However there are some players that never get to represent their country due to some reasons. 

These players have represented their country in the age-grade or youth competitions, but never made a senior appearance for the national team.

Mikel Arteta

One of the most shocking names on the list. However, it becomes less shocking when you take a look at the Spanish National Team when Mikel Arteta was in his peak.

Mikel Arteta was a La Masia graduate, played for Barcelona B and C but never made it to the senior team. He was sent on loan to PSG where he played with Ronaldinho. He played for Rangers and Everton before he moved to Arsenal in 2011. He played for Arsenal till 2016 when he retired. He joined Manchester City as Pep Guardiola's assistant.

The Arsenal coach couldn't break into the Spanish National Team due to the presence of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. There were other midfielders including Cesc Fabregas and David Silva that were picked ahead of Mikel Arteta.

He was really unlucky not to make a single appearance for the Spanish National Team despite his brilliance for Everton and Arsenal.

Paolo Cannavaro

Brother to Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo never made a single appearance for the Italian National Team. He played for Italian football clubs throughout his career but was just able to earn a call-up for a game against South Africa in 2007 which he wasn't able to play. 

He played for Napoli, Parma, Verona and Sassuolo in the Italian Leagues. He represented Italy in the U-16, U-17, U-19, U-20, U-21 but was unable to make it to the senior Team. Just like the case of Mikel Arteta, there were better players for his position in person of Leonardo Bonucci and Barzagli.

Gabi

Gabi Fernandes Arenas was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. He rose from Atletico Madrid's academy before he was signed by Real Zaragoza. 

He joined Atletico Madrid and became their captain. Despite his brilliance form from 2011- 2015, he never played for the Spanish National Team. 

Maxi Lopez

Ex-husband to Wanda Nara, who is Mauro Icardi's wife and agent. The former Milan, Barcelona and Torino player never made a senior national team appearance despite being eligible to represent Argentina and Italy. He represented Argentina at U-15, U-17, U-20 levels and also at the Youth Championship but was never called up by either Argentina or Italy. He has both Argentine and Italian passports.

Steve Bruce

Newcastle manager, Steve Bruce was a Manchester United player and captain in his career. He was born and raised in England. He played for other English clubs in England but could only play for England B in a friendly. He never played for the English national team.

Aymeric Laporte

The most surprising name on the list. At 26, Aymeric Laporte is yet to feature for a senior national team. He was born in France to French parents . However he has Spanish descent from his grandparents, making him eligible to play for Spain and France.

He joined Atletico Bilbao in his teens and made a move to Manchester City in January 2018. He represented France in the youth level and was called up to the French National team for their Euro 2020 qualifier matches in August 2019. However he couldn't get involved because he got injured while playing for his club some days after his call-up.

He's still eligible to play for Spain but it seems he prefers to play for France despite having lesser competition in Spain. 

However, up to this moment, he is yet to make an International appearance.

Thanks for reading. Which name on the list surprised you? Is there any player that should be on that list but isn't. Drop your thoughts in the comment section.

Source: Checkyourpassions, Wikipedia.

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came as a surprise when Ronaldo, Pogba and Iniesta were seen playing for the same team.

It's known that Ronaldo is a Portuguese player that plays for Juventus. Pogba (Paul) is a French player that Manchester United. Iniesta is a former Spanish footballer.

To cut to the case, there are also three players whose media names are Ronaldo, Iniesta and Pogba but not the Europeans. During the African Cup of Nations qualifier match between South Africa and Sao Tome, there were three players called Ronaldo, Iniesta and Pogba. It seems Iniesta and Ronaldo started the match from the bench and were introduced into the game.

📸; Wikipedia

The three players hail from Sao Tome, a country from Central Africa.

Despite using those names as their media names, they have their real names which is different from their media names.

Ronaldo's real name is Lumungo Afonso. He is 19 years old. He plays for Amigo Paz, a club in Portugal.

Iniesta's real name is Aderito Pires da Mata. He is a defensive midfielder of 28 years.

Pogba's real name is Eduardo Assuncao Varela is a 20-year-old Sao Tome midfielder that plays for a club in Sao Tome called FC Porto Real.

Thanks for reading.