NBA star James Harden’s love of beards extends to his Fifa Ultimate Team

You’ll need some serious face fuzz to make it onto to Harden’s team

I was in a dimly lit bar in Barcelona last year when I noticed a tall man sporting a glorious beard. Aside from marvelling at the entourage around him, my immediate thought was, “Wow, what a beard.” I then realised the beard in question was attached to the NBA’s 2018 MVP, James Harden.

The Rockets man (no relation to Elton John) can also appreciate a good beard when he sees one, and his Fifa team shows some serious affection to his fellow bearded athletes.

It can’t be a coincidence that the seven players on his team’s subs bench showcase some of the best of beards in football. Here’s a rundown of the players he selected.

Don’t expect Mohamed Salah on the list though after he shaved off his beard, external on Sunday.

Only a beard aficionado such as Harden can truly acknowledge the magnificence of Mile Jedinak’s wonderful face fuzz.

The Aussie midfielder charges around the field every weekend looking like King Leonidas himself, and at Villa Park supporters refer to him as ‘The Beard to be Feared’.

Size-wise, Giroud’s beard might not really compare to Harden’s, but in terms of sheer style, it is impeccable.

Even after 90 minutes on the pitch, you’ll rarely see this Frenchman with a hair out of place, whether that’s on his head or on his chin.

“I think I’ve gained most of my strength from my beard,” Howard said, external in 2013, after a solid performance in goal for Everton against Aston Villa, during which he saved a penalty.

Howard’s beard became so iconic throughout the years that he even featured in a beard exhibition gallery in London in 2015.

This beard is so popular, it’s even got its own Twitter account with over 10k followers.

If you thought maintaining a great beard was cheap though, think again: “It’s costing me a fortune with all the oils and shampoos I’ve got to use,” Ledley told BBC Sport in 2015.

The former Barcelona midfielder's thick beard has become a part of his identity over the years, but he could have lost it had a few results gone in Barca's favour.

In 2017, Turan's teammate and Barca goalkeeper Marc ter Stegen dared him to get rid of his beard should he score 20 goals that season. Turan, on the other hand, countered this bet by saying he’d only do it if Barca progressed to the Champions League final and won.

It was their rivals Real Madrid who went on to win the Champions League that year though, beating Juventus 4-1 in the final and leaving Turan’s beard intact to his face.

He may not play for a top European side, but Hemel Hempstead Town’s Rob Sinclair deserves to be in the Premier League of beards.

Sinclair has gone full on with his beard and accompanies it with a head of hair put into a ponytail too.

The Spanish striker once tried to wax Xabi Alonso’s, external leg at the World Cup when the two were sitting on the bench together.

Perhaps he was projecting beard-envy, since Alonso’s beard is one heck of a showstopper - but Costa isn’t too far behind with his heavily stubbled look.

So if there's anything we've learnt from Harden's Fifa subs bench, it's that beards aren't cheap to maintain, but they can give you strength when you most need it. Just don't touch another player's beard during a match because that's still classed as a foul, external, you know.

WANT MORE?

Everyone's making the same joke about Boca Juniors' latest signing

Bands FC have reimagined Six Nations teams as iconic album covers