Every year, several books are released exploring the stories and intricacies of football. And perhaps none are more eagerly awaited than titles written by players and managers themselves, both past and present. But, for every great there are numerous, not so.
Seatpick can reveal that the worst book by a football personality is How to Watch Football by Ruud Gullit. Released in 2016, the book sees the Dutch legend explain how to read the beautiful game, utilising knowledge he acquired as a player, manager and pundit. Though this is certainly an appealing synopsis for football fans, many reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads complain about the book being ‘uninformative’ and ‘uninteresting’, leaving Gullit’s insights with a disappointing final score of 3.84 out of 5.
The second-worst book according to the data is, surprisingly, the autobiography of one of football’s all-time greats. My Turn: The Autobiography, released in 2016, is the life story of Netherlands legend Johan Cruyff, considered by many to be the greatest player never to win a FIFA World Cup. Unfortunately, the book finishes with a low score of 3.93 out of 5, with readers complaining of certain sections being tedious and others somewhat arrogant.
In third place is Andrea Pirlo’s I Think Therefore I Play, released in 2013. The book finishes with a score of 4.01 out of 5, with many readers noting its short length and somewhat unoriginal content.
The two worst books, according to the data (How to Watch Football by Ruud Gullit and My Turn: The Autobiography by Johan Cruyff) are written by former Dutch players.
Both Jamie Redknapp and his father Harry make it into the top 10, with their books (Me, Family and the Making of a Footballer and The World According to Harry) scoring 4.37 and 4.36 out of 5 respectively.
Though Jamie Carragher’s book The Greatest Games: The Ultimate Book for Football Fans makes it into the top 10, with a score of 4.38 out of 5, other pundits’ works don’t fare quite so well. His longtime Sky Sports partner Gary Neville appears much further down on the list with his own solo book The People’s Game: A View from a Front Seat in Football, which scored 4.21 out of 5. The worst book by a regular pundit is Roy Keane’s The Second Half, with a score of 4.05 out of 5.
The WORST books by football personalities from the past 10 years
| Rank | Book | Author/s | Released | Review score (/5) |
| 1 | How to Watch Football | Ruud Gullit | 2016 | 3.84 |
| 2 | My Turn: The Autobiography | Johan Cruyff | 2016 | 3.93 |
| 3 | I Think Therefore I Play | Andrea Pirlo | 2013 | 4.01 |
| 4 | The Second Half | Roy Keane | 2014 | 4.05 |
| 5 | My Autobiography | Sir Alex Ferguson | 2013 | 4.07 |
| 6 | Forward: A Memoir | Abby Wambach | 2016 | 4.08 |
| =7 | Mourinho On Football | José Mourinho | 2013 | 4.10 |
| =7 | Adrenaline: My Untold Stories | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 2022 | 4.10 |
| =9 | #2Sides: My Autobiography | Rio Ferdinand | 2014 | 4.12 |
| =9 | Big Sam: My Autobiography | Sam Allardyce | 2015 | 4.12 |
*An ‘=’ indicates a joint ranking
