They're idolised by millions and paid more than most of us combined but for some reason the fame they get from their careers at the summit of the sports world never seems to be enough.
Many a football star has tried their hands in other fields, if you pardon the pun. It worked for Vinnie Jones in the movies, Gary Lineker in television but, no matter how hard they seem to try and despite the overwhelming evidence that dual careers in sports and music cannot work, that's not going to stop them from trying.
As we look ahead to the Affidea Rock 'n' Roll Dublin Half Marathon from the 5th to 7th August, we thought we'd take a look at five of the best/worst/most ill-advised times when sports stars tried their hand in front of a microphone.
Paul McGrath
Paul, you were probably our best ever defender but we're not sure we can heap similar praise on your singing ability. To be fair to the man, Paul's version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's classic 'Goin' Back' wasn't so much a vanity project but more a project to help raise money for the Acquired Brain Injury Foundation and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Ireland.
It's probably fair to say that our collective memories of Paul McGrath will be more to do with his performances at the Giants Stadium at USA 94 than him wistfully crooning a melody while skipping stones across Dalkey bay - and rightfully so. But fair play for the charity work all the same.
Andy Cole
Obviously not quite sure what to do in his post-football career, the Champions League winner somehow opted to follow the least realistic route to success possible: a singing career.
Cole released a song called 'Outstanding' which, as you'll see if you click play below, is anything but. His lyrical content obviously isn't a miracle godsend, featuring clunky lines like "Tell the world my name. Who's that? Andy Cole! I blaze the scene and score the goals".
Unsurprisingly this was Andy Cole's first and only assault on the charts.
Petr Cech
Arsenal and Czech Republic Petr Cech shot stopper is a rarity on this list, in that he's possibly the only person who displays any sort of flair for creativity outside of the football pitch.
Cech has a YouTube channel on which he posts videos of him playing drums along to songs by the likes or Nirvana, System of a Down, Stereophonics and even The Script and, being quite honest here, he's not half bad at all.
Mick McCarthy & Linda Martin
Regular readers to these pages will know that we have discussed this at great length already but for the unaware, late last year we came across the absolute mind-boggling news that Mick McCarthy and Linda Martin recorded a song together in the early 90's before Linda won the Eurovision for 'Why Me?'
The duos version of the Frank Sinatra hit 'Did You Ever' failed to have the type of chart success it deserved, even despite well-known fashionista Mick McCarthy's excellent purple and white baggy jumper on the front cover of the single.
Listening to the track below it's incredible to think that both Mick and Linda, along with the numerous studio engineers, session musicians and producers, thought that this was a good idea.
John Barnes
Unlike practically everyone else on this list, John Barnes has actually experienced some success in the music world but that is more down to New Order than it is the former Liverpool man's rapping skills. 'World In Motion', Barnes' collaboration with New Order, actually reached #1 in the UK charts and has remained a cult hit even to this day.
The song successfully harnessed the British public's excitement about the upcoming Italia '90 campaign but it won't surprise you to learn that Barnes' brush with the pop charts ended here and any thoughts of following up on his newfound talents fell flat.
Probably for the best, too.
