Akanji, Lampard, Mata: 13 of the cleverest footballers ever | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji wowed everyone with his incredible mathematic skills this weekend.

The defender has the amazing ability to answer any sum in a matter of milliseconds.

So impressive.

Footballers aren't known for being the most intelligent bunch but Akanji certainly isn't included in that generalisation.

But he's not alone.

There are a number of footballers past or present that are actually pretty clever.

And to pay tribute to all those footballers that listened in school despite the dream of becoming a professional sportsman - or those who have used their spare time to study for degrees - we've decided to highlight 14 rather clever guys.

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku can speak an incredible EIGHT languages. The Inter Milan can speak German, English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch and a Swahili dialect.

If that wasn't enough, he's also got a degree in tourism and international relations.

Juan Mata

One of football's nicest footballers. Mata set up the 'Common Goal' charity which encourages professional footballers to pledge at least one per cent of their salaries to support football charities around the world.

During his time at Manchester United, Mata studied for degrees in both finance and sports science.

Andrey Arshavin

The former Arsenal man launched his own clothing range during his playing days having achieved a degree from the St Petersburg State University of Technology and Design.

Simon Mignolet

The and also possesses a degree in law and political sciences.

Frank Lampard

According to a report in The Sun, the Everton manager scored an incredible 150 on an IQ test with Mensa, landing him amongst the most intelligent 0.1 percent of the global population. Wow.

Giorgio Chiellini

Not satisfied with being one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini graduated from the prestigious University of Turin with a business economics degree.

Edwin van der Sar

Van der Sar studied for a master's degree in sports and brand management at the Johan Cruyff Institute after hanging up his gloves.

He has since gone on to become the marketing director, and now CEO, of Ajax.

Clarke Carlisle

Carlisle was dubbed ‘Britain's brainiest footballer’, and was the first player to appear on TV show, Question Time as he spoke brilliantly about racism.

He was formally the chairman of the PFA and has a degree in sports writing and broadcasting while also appearing as a contestant on Countdown.

Socrates

The Brazil legend held a bachelor's degree in medicine during his playing days while he also wrote columns for newspapers on topics ranging from sport, to politics to economics.

Duncan Watmore

Watmore is only the second player in the Premier League to ever graduate from university with first-degree honours.

He studied economics and business management at Newcastle University while playing Premier League football, catching up on lectures in the evenings after training sessions.

Glen Johnson

While many in this list opted for a degree in business, Johnson completed a degree in mathematics.

Shaka Hislop

Hislop has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and even interned at NASA. He's also written columns for The Guardian and is a fantastic pundit on ESPN.

Fikayo Tomori

Tomori studied for a business management diploma while on England duty.

"Football won’t go on for ever," he said.

"When I retire or, God forbid, I get an injury, then I have something I’m working towards that can stand me in good stead for the future."