Football Players Who ALMOST DIED

One second you're in a Ferrari going 150 miles per hour, then these are the soccer players that almost died. And for Cristiano Ronaldo, just three days after buying his dream car, an accident changed his life forever. On January 8th, 2009, it was an unusual morning for Ronaldo cause his coach was calling for an early practice after Manchester had just suffered a heartbreaking loss. So Ronaldo's teammates, they were counting on him to be there, but he was nowhere to be found. See, Ronaldo, he overslept, and eventually he did wake up and see all the notifications, so he jumped out of bed immediately. Now we all know Ronaldo takes his game seriously, so not showing up to a practice, that was unacceptable. But I mean, he did only have 20 minutes to get all the way across the city, but he was not going to disappoint. And there was one car in his garage that could get that job done, but little did he know, getting in that car would be the biggest mistake of his life. Damn man, Ronaldo was just starting to make a name for himself, and now he was crawling out a Ferrari that was completely totaled. So the fact that Ronaldo could walk away without a single scratch on his body, it was a miracle. But from that point on, he made it his life's mission to dedicate everything to the sport, and become the greatest soccer player to ever touch a field. But ironically, for Lionel Messi, him trying to do that nearly cost him his life. Back in 2017, Messi was about to play in one of the biggest games of his career. Barcelona was going up against Juventus in a heavily anticipated Champions League matchup, and Juventus had already won the first leg 3-0, so Messi knew if he didn't come in and have the game of his career, he was heading home. So as soon as Messi ran on that field, he was prepared for anything, or at least that's what he thought. Throughout the first half, both teams desperately made a push. I mean, their legacies were at stake, and whoever won was heading to the semi-finals. So they battled it out, blood sweat and tears, but neither were able to score a single point. Then, as the half was coming to a close, Messi made one last high effort play, but that nearly cost him everything. See, Messi almost lost more than just the game out there. Doctors realized, if he had landed just 2mm higher, that neck injury would have killed him. So despite Barcelona losing that game, Messi was a very lucky man. But see, most disasters happen off the field, like for Mateus Silva. This man nearly lost his life on vacation. Yeah. Back in 2017, it was about to be the 4th of July, so Silva and his teammates they were amped. I mean, they were trying to turn up, and they figured why not drive to Lake Tahoe and enjoy the beach a little bit. Well, because it was the 4th, they already knew the beach would be crowded, and they had a game later that day, so they planned to pull up extra early, around 6am or so. But little did they know, things were about to get crazy. Yeah. See, that next morning, the boys all hopped in the same car, turned on some bangers, you already know how it go, and they went on their little road trip. But as soon as they pulled up to the beach, Silva, he just lost control. He saw the sand, the water, and he just couldn't help himself. I mean, he felt like a little kid again. And without thinking, he ran straight for the lake, and dove in. And lowkey, it was kinda beautiful. I mean, the way the sun was just bouncing off the water, this dude was kinda looking like Michael Phelps out there. So the boys watched him swim all the way out to the buoys. But that's when it happened. Out of nowhere, Silva, he started screaming, for help. And the boys, I mean, they thought he was just trolling, until he went under. Then, their hearts dropped. They raced to the lake. They jumped in after him. But by the time they got to Silva, it was too late. He wasn't breathing, and he had no pulse. So they had to swim to shore, and think fast. Luckily, a lifeguard came running to the rescue. And he tried giving CPR, but it wasn't working. So, they had no choice. Two days later, Silva woke up. But he was dazed. Confused. And it turned out, he was in a coma. See, when he jumped into that lake, he was so excited, he didn't realize the water was freezing. So, as soon as he got in, his body went into shock, and it caused his heart to stop. I mean, he's just lucky his boys were there, because they literally saved his life. And after it was found out that Silva would recover, his teammate, Chris Wondolowski, paid respect to him in their next game. Wearing his number 38, and even scored a goal that night. For him. Almost drowning, that's something that'll live with you forever. But almost not even making it to your first birthday? For Neymar, that was his reality. And what happened in 1992, scarred him for life. Literally. See, at the time, Neymar was only 4 months old. And him, his dad, and his mom, were driving to visit some relatives. But that's when things turned deadly. See, living in Brazil, the family was driving up the mountains. But out of nowhere, a ridiculous storm hit. And it wasn't just the typical rain that comes and goes. It was storming so bad, they couldn't even see what was right in front of them. Then, came the lights. The family was in an accident, and everybody, I mean EVERYBODY, was hurt. And even though it was storming, Neymar's dad remembers everything as it happened. He said, a car came towards me. I tried to swerve, but it hit us full on on my door side. My left leg landed on top of the other, dislocating my hip. And I was desperate. I said to my wife, I'm dying. But my worst fear was the next thought in my head. Where was Junior? See, the car was hit so hard that Neymar literally disappeared, and the family had no idea where he went. His dad looked everywhere. Inside the car. On the street. Outside the car. In the bushes. Nothing. They couldn't find him. They didn't know what to do. Until they heard crying. It was Neymar. And he was trapped. His dad looked underneath the driver's seat, and there he was. Covered in blood. Neymar's head was cut from a piece of glass. So the family, they had no choice. They immediately rushed him to the hospital. Neymar came face to face with death, and he wasn't even old enough to understand words or to even know what was going on. So when Neymar's dad found out that he was going to be okay, all he honestly could do was thank God. And from that point on, he knew Neymar was blessed. Now, as scary as Neymar's situation was, nothing compares to Angel Di Maria living every day with a target on his back. And lately, things have gotten so crazy, people literally came after his entire family. Yeah. At the beginning of 2021, Angel and his PSG teammates were all smiles. Their team was off to a great start to the season, and they were proving people wrong, yeah, but most thought it was a fluke. So when PSG came into a heavily anticipated match, they wanted to prove themselves. And throughout the first half, they started off in the lead 1-0. So things were looking up, but then what happened, nobody could have predicted. During the 62nd minute, phones of everybody on the team were ringing off the charts. I mean, it was crazy. And out of nowhere, Angel had to be escorted out of the arena in the middle of the game. What was going on? Well, his family was in danger. It turns out, some criminals had their eyes on Angel's house, and they knew when he'd be gone. As soon as they found out it was game day, they saw an opportunity, and they took it. While it was only Angel's wife and his two daughters at home, the criminals broke in, and held them hostage. And they ran around the house, grabbing anything valuable that they could find. And that's when they stole Angel's entire $600,000 jewelry collection, hopped in a getaway car, and escaped like a GTA heist. And what's crazy is, this wasn't even the first time Angel's house was broken into. So immediately after this, he had no choice, and hired security. It was more than his own life at risk now.