Being the son of a professional footballer sounds like a head start.
You grow up around the game, have access to advice most young players could only dream of and, you would imagine, inherit a bit of footballing ability too.
But you also inherit the surname.
When your dad has played for England, won the Premier League or lifted the European Cup, simply making it as a professional is an achievement. Matching him is another matter entirely.
Football is full of famous father-son combinations, but remarkably few sons have reached the same level as their fathers.
Even fewer have had better careers.
So, who did?
Alf-Inge & Erling Haaland
This might be the biggest gap on the list, which says more about Erling than it does Alf-Inge.
Haaland Sr had a great Premier League career, making close to 200 appearances across the North of England for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City, as well as earning 34 caps for Norway.
Erling has taken the family name to another level entirely with plenty left to give.
Since joining Manchester City, he has smashed Premier League goalscoring records, won the Treble and established himself among the world’s best No.9s.
Even their time at City shows how different the two careers, and eras, have been. Alf-Inge joined the club for £2.5 million in 2000. Erling now reportedly earns around £525,000 a week before bonuses.
Alf-Inge reached a level most footballers never will. Erling reached the very top.
Better than his dad? Yes, and probably by the biggest margin on this list.
Peter & Kasper Schmeichel
There cannot be many tougher players to follow into the same position than Peter Schmeichel.
He was one of the great goalkeepers of his generation, winning five Premier League titles and the 1999 Treble with Manchester United, as well as Euro 92 with Denmark.
Kasper was always going to be compared with him, but ended up building quite a career of his own. After starting out at Manchester City and dropping down the leagues, he found his home at Leicester.
He played every game of their incredible 2015/16 Premier League title win and later helped them win the FA Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
For all Peter achieved, Kasper actually got closer than you might think. Both played for Manchester City, both became Denmark’s No.1 and Peter’s 310 Premier League appearances are only 26 more than Kasper managed.
Peter still wins the comparison. But when your dad is one of the most iconic goalkeepers of all time, winning the Premier League and FA Cup with Leicester is about as good a challenge as anyone could have made.
Better than his dad? No, but Kasper certainly made it close.
Cesare, Paolo & Daniel Maldini
Most football families get two generations. The Maldinis have managed three.
Cesare captained AC Milan to their first European Cup in 1963 and won four Serie A titles. Then Paolo somehow raised the bar.
Across 25 seasons with Milan, he made more than 900 appearances, won seven Serie A titles and five European Cups / Champions Leagues, becoming one of the greatest defenders in history.
Now there is Daniel. An attacking player rather than a defender, he became the third Maldini to represent Italy in 2024.
Three generations playing for Italy is remarkable. Unfortunately for Daniel, he is being compared with Paolo Maldini.
Better than his dad? Paolo surpassed Cesare. Daniel has a long way to go.
Frank Lampard Sr & Frank Lampard Jr
Before Chelsea had their record goalscorer, West Ham already had a very good footballer called Frank Lampard.
Lampard Sr spent the vast majority of his career with the Hammers, made more than 600 appearances in all competitions and won the FA Cup twice.
His son also started his career at Upton Park.
Lampard Jr initially had to deal with accusations that his father’s position on Harry Redknapp’s coaching staff had helped his progression into the first team.
Those accusations did not age particularly well.
He moved to Chelsea in 2001 and became one of the outstanding midfielders of his generation. Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, a Champions League and more than 100 England caps followed.
Then there are the goals.
Lampard scored 211 times for Chelsea and remains the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. For a midfielder, it remains an extraordinary record.
Lampard Sr had a superb career.
His son had an elite one.
Better than his dad? Yes.
Ian Wright & Shaun Wright-Phillips
This one is slightly different.
Ian Wright adopted Shaun when he was young, but their careers still produced one of English football’s best-known father and son stories.
Wright’s own route into professional football was remarkable.
He was already in his twenties when Crystal Palace gave him his opportunity. From there came Arsenal, England and goals. Lots of them.
Wright eventually became Arsenal’s record goalscorer before Thierry Henry surpassed him, having established himself as one of the finest strikers of his era.
Shaun was nothing like him as a player.
Small, quick and explosive, Wright-Phillips emerged as an exciting winger at Manchester City before Chelsea paid £21 million for him in 2005.
He won the Premier League, earned 36 England caps and made more than 300 appearances in the competition.
Ian’s other son, Bradley Wright-Phillips, also became a professional and later established himself as one of Major League Soccer’s most prolific forwards.
Two sons making it at that level is an achievement in itself.
Neither quite reached Ian’s heights.
Better than his dad? No. Wrighty keeps this one.
Lilian, Marcus & Khéphren Thuram
The Thurams are a useful reminder that footballing ability does not necessarily get passed down in the same position.
Lilian Thuram was an elite defender.
He won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with France, played for Parma, Juventus and Barcelona and finished his international career with 142 caps.
His sons went in completely different directions.
Marcus developed into a powerful forward, while Khéphren became a midfielder. Both reached the French national team, with Marcus becoming an established international and Khéphren following one part of his father’s club career by joining Juventus.
It means Lilian produced two sons capable of reaching international football, neither of whom plays anything like him.
Both have already built serious careers.
But their father was a World Cup winner and one of France’s great defenders.
That remains a very high bar.
Better than his dad? Not yet. Lilian still leads the family rankings.
Abedi Pelé, André & Jordan Ayew
The Ayews might have the strongest international family story on this list.
Abedi Pelé was one of Africa’s great players, winning African Footballer of the Year three times and the Champions League with Marseille. He also captained Ghana.
Then both of his sons wore the same armband.
André captained the Black Stars at the 2022 World Cup, while Jordan later followed his father and brother as Ghana captain, leading his country into the 2026 World Cup.
Both have also built long careers at club level, with English football seeing plenty of the Ayew family over the years.
Three men from the same family becoming captain of Ghana is some legacy.
Better than their dad? Individually, no. As a footballing family, though, the Ayews take some beating.
Wayne & Kai Rooney
Kai Rooney is progressing through Manchester United’s academy and signed scholarship terms with the club in 2026. Inevitably, every step in Carrington Training Complex is compared to Wazza’s
That is slightly unfortunate, because Wayne Rooney was already playing Premier League football at 16. Before turning 17, he had scored that goal against Arsenal. By 18, Manchester United had come calling.
Five Premier League titles, a Champions League, 120 England caps and a record 253 Manchester United goals followed.
Kai could become a very good professional footballer and still get nowhere near his father’s career.
In fact, forget the bloodline. We might not see another English footballer as naturally gifted and complete as Wayne Rooney for a century.
That is the standard Kai has inherited.
Better than his dad? Only a few can say they are.
George & Timothy Weah
Timothy Weah was never given a particularly realistic target.
George Weah played for Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, won Serie A twice and, in 1995, became the first African footballer to win the Ballon d’Or.
He remains the only African winner of the award.
Timothy has still built an impressive career of his own.
Born in New York, he chose to represent the United States and developed in Europe, playing for clubs including PSG, Celtic, Lille and Juventus.
He also managed something his father never did.
At the 2022 World Cup, Timothy scored for the United States against Wales. George never played at the tournament because Liberia failed to qualify during his career.
It gives Timothy a fairly useful response whenever the World Cup comes up at the Weah dinner table.
It does not quite outweigh a Ballon d’Or.
Better than his dad? No. George wins comfortably.
Jorge & Gonzalo Higuaín
Gonzalo Higuaín was not the first serious footballer in his family.
His father Jorge was a tough central defender who played for both Boca Juniors and River Plate, two clubs separated by Argentina’s fiercest rivalry. Crossing that divide is not unheard of, but it certainly gives the family CV some extra weight.
He also won league titles with River and spent time in France with Brest, where Gonzalo was born.
That young lad took European football by the scruff.
Gonzalo scored more than 100 league goals for Real Madrid, hit a then-record 36 goals in a Serie A season for Napoli and won three league titles with Juventus. For Argentina, he started the 2014 World Cup final and two Copa América finals.
Jorge had a very good career at the heart of Argentine football. Gonzalo became one of Europe’s leading centre-forwards.
Better than his dad? Yes, astronomically.
Patrick & Justin Kluivert
Patrick Kluivert did not exactly make life easy for any footballing son who followed him.
At just 18, he came off the bench and scored the winner for Ajax in the 1995 Champions League final. He went on to score more than 100 goals for Barcelona and finished with 40 for the Netherlands.
But Justin has become a very good player in his own right.
After a career that took him around Europe, he really found his feet at Bournemouth. His standout 2024/25 season brought 12 Premier League goals and six assists, and he has since helped the club reach European football for the first time in their history.
At 27, there is still plenty of his career left too.
Patrick’s peak remains difficult to touch. Scoring a Champions League winner at 18 before becoming a star for Barcelona is a benchmark.
Better than his dad? No, but Justin has built a very good career of his own.
Diego, Giovanni & Giuliano Simeone
Diego Simeone’s managerial career has become so significant that it is easy to forget how good he was as a player.
He won 106 caps for Argentina, played at three World Cups and lifted major trophies in both Spain and Italy. Aggressive, tactically sharp and fiercely competitive, the player was not too different from the manager we know now.
Two of his sons have since reached international football. Giovanni has built a strong career as a striker, particularly in Serie A, while Giuliano has broken through at Atlético Madrid and into the Argentina side.
Both have made it at a serious level. The problem is that Diego set the bar as a player, then arguably went on to surpass his own playing career as a manager.
Giovanni is unlikely to catch him now. Giuliano still has time.
Better than their dad? Not yet. Diego remains comfortably on top.
