Iker Casillas, Carlos Puyol Cause Stir With Gay Claim; Other Footballers Who Came Out Including Megan Rapinoe

Iker Casillas, Carlos Puyol Cause Stir With Gay Claim; Other Footballers Who Came Out Including Megan Rapinoe

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:13 PM
  • Iker Casillas appeared to confirm that he was gay in a tweet (that has since been deleted) that received support from former Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol
  • The tweet reignited the divisive topic of homosexuality, which is still considered a taboo not only in football but in many sports
  • Megan Rapinoe is one of the most famous footballers who came out as gay and later on married her girlfriend Sue Bird

Legendary Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas caused a stir online on Sunday, October 9th, after he claimed he was gay.

Casillas mentioned in a tweet that has since been deleted that he hoped people would respect him after he revealed his sexual orientation.

Iker Casillas, Carlos Puyol, Megan Rapinoe, gay footballers, Josh Cavallo, Justin Fashanu, Sue Bird.
Megan Rapinoe kisses her girlfriend Sue Bird during a past event in 2021. Photo by Kevin C. Cox.
Source: Getty Images

Homosexuality remains a deeply-divisive subject among many people. Sports Brief takes a look at the other top footballers, male or female, who have come out as gay.

1. Megan Rapinoe

Arguably one of the best-ever female footballers the world has ever seen, Rapinoe came out as a homosexual in 2012. The American captain has been involved in gay activism rights and married former basketball player Sue Bird in 2017.

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2. Josh Cavallo

The Australian player came out publicly in October 2021 through a video after telling his Adelaide United teammates.

3. Justin Fashanu

Fashanu made history as the first professional footballer to ever come out as gay when he made the announcement in 1990.

4. Jake Daniels

Earlier this year, Blackpool's forward became the first British player to come out publicly as gay. He received widespread support after his announcement, with Three Lions captain Harry Kane leading the messages.

5. Samatha Kerr

Another top female footballer, Kerr admitted she was gay after posting a picture with her girlfriend Kristie Mewis, also a professional footballer.

Iker Casillas tweets that he is gay, before deleting tweet

Sports Brief had earlier reported that legendary Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has deleted a tweet in which he appeared to come out as gay.

The former Spain captain posted a short message on social media platform, Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

However, the Spanish publication AS claims he has posted this as a way for the tabloids to stop writing about his personal life.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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