Football Genetics: The most famous brothers in football history

It is sometimes said that football is in the blood. Some brothers have clearly taken this to heart and built impressive careers for themselves in the beautiful game. These are the most famous brothers in football history.

In his prime, Eden Hazard was simply unstoppable at Chelsea. His brother Thorgan made a name for himself at Borussia Dortmund, while another brother, Kylian, showed his talent in the Belgian league.

Of the Pogba brothers, Paul is the most famous, having excelled with the French national team, Manchester United and Juventus. His brothers Mathias and Florentin were much less successful and played for much smaller clubs.

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Fabio Cannavaro experienced his finest hour at the 2006 World Cup, helping Italy win football's most coveted trophy and winning the Ballon d'Or that same year. Paolo was in his brother's shadow, but also enjoyed a fine career that took him to Napoli and Parma, amongst other clubs.

Do Frank and Ronald de Boer still have to introduce themselves? These two Dutch footballer brothers played together for Ajax, FC Barcelona and Rangers, and were also part of the Dutch national team.

A generation earlier, Ronald and Erwin Koeman were the most famous Dutch brothers in international football, with the former earning FC Barcelona the European Cup with a legendary free kick.

Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng are brothers, but played for the national teams of Germany and Ghana, respectively. At club level, Jerome wore the jersey of Manchester City and Bayern Munich, while Kevin-Prince represented AC Milan and FC Barcelona, among other clubs.

Argentine brothers Diego and Gabriel Milito, too, played at the highest level. The former excelled at Internazionale and won the Champions League. Gabriel, on the other hand, enjoyed a four-year spell at FC Barcelona.

Twin brothers Rafael and Fabio da Silva played together at Manchester United, and both won trophies with the Red Devils. After their time at Old Trafford, they both played in France and Brazil.

Another famous pair of football brothers are Andre and Jordan Ayew, who both represented Ghana and have played for Marseille and several Premier League clubs.

Giovani Dos Santos was called the new Messi at FC Barcelona at a young age, but the Mexican never lived up to those expectations. Brother Jonathan also played for the Blaugrana, but like Giovani, he never really made his mark at Camp Nou.

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Yaya and Kolo Toure enjoyed very successful careers in the Premier League, playing together for Manchester City.

The same goes for Rio and Anton Ferdinand, with the former winning no fewer than six Premier League titles with Manchester United.

Gary and Phil Neville were an integral part of Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and lifted several trophies at Old Trafford. Gary ended his career at United, while Phil retired at Everton.

Toni and Felix Kroos are Germany's most famous brothers in recent years. Toni showed his class at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, while Felix built himself a career in Germany.

Romelu Lukaku broke through as a teenager at RSC Anderlecht. His sibling Jordan did the same a few years later, but never reached the level of his older brother.

Brothers Thiago and Rafinha Alcantara have both reached the top of European football, representing FC Barcelona and other major European clubs.

Winning the 1966 World Cup, Bobby and Jack Charlton are England legends. While the former was a fearsome attacking player at Manchester United, the latter wore the shirt of Leeds United as a central defender.

Lucas and Theo Hernandez both represented France on several occasions and proved themselves at the top European level by playing for major clubs such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

The same goes for Italian brothers Filippo and Simone Inzaghi, with 'Pippo' writing his name into the history books of AC Milan and Juventus.

Another Italian football brother pair, Franco and Giuseppe Baresi wore the jersey of AC and Inter Milan respectively and celebrated success in their home country and Europe.

Brian and Michael Laudrup are perhaps the most talented football brothers of all time. Brian played for Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Chelsea, while Michael represented Spanish rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, amongst other clubs.

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However, the Laudrup brothers could well battle it out for the title with Rai and Socrates, as the Brazilians were exceptionally talented. Rai was the more successful brother of the two, winning the 1994 World Cup with Brazil and the Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain.