The world's greatest soccer players and managers have been commemorated and honored in various ways, but perhaps one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on one of the sport's greatest legends is to have their own statue.
Many factors are taken into consideration in deciding whether a player or manager deserves a statue, but the two main considerations are a person's importance to their club and their importance to their country.
The UK is home to 80 soccer statues, which is much more than any other nation. However, other countries that have a deep-seated football culture, such as Brazil, Spain, and Holland, have each erected more than 20 statues to honor their players. These monuments are also popular in Argentina, Russia, and Mexico and can be found as far as China, Bolivia, Israel, and Indonesia.
In honor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, we compiled a list of some of The Most Important Soccer Statues Worldwide.
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