Napoli star Scott McTominay isn't the only player to get caught having a sneaky cigarette – here are five other high-profile professionals who have also indulged in a smoke over the years
10:26, 28 May 2025Updated 10:39, 28 May 2025
Scott McTominay was seen enjoying the celebrations on the Napoli parade bus
Scott McTominay was seen enjoying the celebrations on the Napoli parade bus(Image: @Rrahmanerica)
Scott McTominay's puff on a cigarette during Napoli's victory parade raised eyebrows this weekend - but he's not the first footballer to be snapped smoking.
Just nine months after his move from Manchester United, the midfielder played a key role in securing Napoli's fourth ever Serie A title, and naturally, celebrations were in order. More than 200,000 fans lined the streets of Naples as the players' coach paraded along the city's seafront, where the Scottish hero and his gorgeous WAG Cam Reading are living their best lives.
But it wasn't just fan adoration they were basking in, with footage revealing several players, including McTominay, lighting up on the open-top bus amidst the festivities. McTominay's animated smoking even saw one post on X describe him as "inhaling his tab with all the familiarity of an 18yr old middle class lad, sitting around the campfire on his gap year in Koh Samui".
While more socially accepted in Europe, the sight of football stars smoking can still stun the average English football fan. However, some of the game's biggest names have been caught indulging in a social, albeit controversial, smoke now and then. From ex-Arsenal ace Jack Wilshere to football legend Zinedine Zidane, we take a look at five players who've been spotted enjoying a sneaky cig.
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov out and about having a cigarette
Dimitar Berbatov out and about having a cigarette(Image: Rex)
Ex-Tottenham, Manchester United, and Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov was spotted on several occasions enjoying a smoke. However, he maintained it was all for the aesthetics, reports the Mirror.
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The Bulgarian legend told Four Four Two: "I pretended to smoke because I looked cool holding a cigarette, but that's it, so I don't know why people think I smoke just from one picture."
Slaven Bilic
Ex-Croatia boss Slaven Bilic was notoriously relaxed about being caught with a cigarette in hand. His ex-West Ham teammate John Moncur once divulged that the Bilic would even light up at the back of the bus. When managing Besiktas, the Turkish Football Federation gave him a ticking-off for smoking inside the stadium.
ZAGREB, CROATIA - OCTOBER 11: Slaven Bilic the manager of Croatia smokes before the Euro 2008 Qualifier match between Croatia and England at the Maksimir Stadium on October 11, 2006 in Zagreb, Croatia. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Slaven Bilic, then Croatia manager, smokes before the Euro 2008 Qualifier match between Croatia and England at the Maksimir Stadium on October 11, 2006(Image: Getty Images)
Former Irons star James Collins also revealed his old manager's love for a cigarette. "Loves a fag," Collins said on Bilic. "Loved it. Dressing rooms, toilets, sneaking out, everywhere. All his staff – chuffing for fun, they were."
Mario Balotelli
Italian bad-boy Mario Balotelli wasn't shy about smoking. The maverick forward was rumoured to indulge in a smoke during his spells at Manchester City and Liverpool.
Mario Balotelli smokes
Mario Balotelli was known to enjoy a smoke(Image: Splash)
Balotelli's smoking exploits grabbed headlines back in 2013 when he was caught having a quick drag in a train toilet en-route to a match in Florence. According to Les Chapman, a former kitman for Manchester City speaking on the Ninety Three Twenty Podcast, he even reportedly sparked up twice before each City training session.
Jack Wilshere
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere found himself in hot water after being caught puffing away twice within nine months during 2013 and 2014. Yet Wilshere didn't dodge the controversy, promptly owning up on social media.
"Of course I regret it," he said. "It's unacceptable, and I will accept the consequences and move on."
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Zinedine Zidane
The iconic Zinedine Zidane was once spotted having a smoke before a huge game(Image: PA)
Zinedine Zidane
Football legend Zinedine Zidane wasn't immune to a bit of secret indulgence either. Mere days before France's World Cup 2006 semi-final clash with Portugal, Zidane was snapped enjoying a sneaky fag.
The celebrated Ballon d'Or recipient wasn't a frequent smoker, though – rumours suggest he gave the habit the cold shoulder in his later years.