What If Sports Stars Were Fat? Including Rory McIlroy, Henry Shefflin And Tommy Bowe

Professional sports stars are like fine-tuned athletic machines. In the modern era of specialised diet programmes and rigorous training regimes, it is a rare sight to see an athlete carrying a bit of extra weight. The novelty of what has become colloquially known as the "fat-lete" has almost become extinct.

If you ever wondered, even just out of sheer bitterness, what a certain sporting hero would look like if they were dangerously portly, look no further. Here are 27 top athletes looking like they are massively overweight.

Rory McIlroy

Brian O'Driscoll

Andy Lee

Eamon Dunphy

Katie Taylor

Cathal Pendred

Derval O'Rourke

Simon Zebo

Tony McCoy

Cristiano Ronaldo

Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic

Lionel Messi

David Beckham

Tiger Woods

Usain Bolt

Wayne Rooney

Thierry Henry

Luis Suarez

Roger Federer

Frank Lampard

Nigel Owens

Jose Mourinho

Arsene Wenger

Henry Shefflin

Tommy Bowe

Conor McGregor