Being the child of a famous athlete isn’t just about the mansions, sports cars and luxurious
lifestyle.
They’ve got to deal with the constant prying eyes of the media, insane public pressure
and the expectation that they’ll one day follow in their talented parent’s footsteps.
Thankfully it seems that some talent is genetic, and these superstar kids are beginning to
display skills that are just as impressive as their accomplished parents.
Let’s get it on!
CRISTIANO RONALDO JR Cristiano Ronaldo has to be one of football’s
most recognizable faces.
The 36-year-old Portuguese captain and five-time Ballon d’Or winner is widely considered
to be not only the best player in the world, but one of the greatest of all time.
In a career spanning more than 20 years and four clubs, Ronaldo was actually the third
athlete in history to earn $1 billion throughout his career.
However over the past few years, public interest has begun to shift to another Ronaldo, Cristiano
Ronaldo Jr.
While playing for Juventus three years ago, Ronaldo Junior was accepted into the under
9’s squad to begin honing what many believed were the same freakish talents his father
possessed.
In the 23 games Jr played, the young prodigy scored a mind-blowing 58 goals and 17 assists!
Fast forward to 2021 and both Ronaldo’s have moved back to Manchester United, Cristiano’s
first professional club.
Junior, now 11 years old, joined the United Academy alongside the children of other famous
footballers like Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Matic.
With such a professional coaching team around him and with his pedigree father as a training
partner, it’s exciting to imagine what CR JR could achieve one day.
As long as it’s not goalkeeping.
XAVI SIMONS While Regillio Simons never really captured
worldwide attention, the Simons name is now famous for a different family member.
Regillio’s son Xavi joined La Masia, Barcelona’s youth program from the age of just 7 years
old.
The young Dutch footballer very quickly impressed scouts and began building a massive social
media following.
By age 14, the future star already had a million Instagram followers and was being managed
by football superagent Mino Raiola.
By the time Xavi had turned 16, despite his outstanding skills on the football pitch,
he wasn’t offered a contract extension with Barcelona.
Instead, he was handed a €1 million per year contract with French side PSG.
The lightning-fast midfielder made his top tier debut with PSG back in April 2021, even
managing to score against Le Mans and Chambly two months later.
At just 18 and playing in the top league, Xavi hasn’t even finished growing yet!
With the right training and coaching behind him, Simons will easily eclipse his father’s
legacy!
BRONNY JAMES When it comes to basketball, just ask LeBron
James and he’ll tell you, it’s good to be king.
Considered by many to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time, LeBron James
has more NBA All-Star Team nominations than any other player out there.
It’s no wonder he’s enjoyed a career spanning 18 years and counting with his lifetime’s
earnings estimated to be into the billions of dollars.
So if LeBron James is king, LeBron Jr has to be prince.
Especially when he shares his famous dad’s name.
From birth, the weight of expectation was on Bronny, so much so that LeBron was knocking
back college scholarships from when he was just ten years old!
Now at 17 years old, Bronny James still holds the basketball world interested in what he
will one day achieve.
Playing for Sierra Canyon, a private K-12 school in LA, Bronny scored 10 points off
the bench in his debut game in 2019, going on to play all 34 games of his 2020 freshman
season.
Besides his unreal court vision, athleticism and still growing fame, Bronny is also quite
the celebrity off the court as well.
There’s the social media fame where Bronny enjoys 4.3 million followers on TikTok and
Twitch, where he reps his involvement in the eSports FaZe gaming clan.
We’ll have to wait and see if NBA fame comes calling for Bronny, if successful, he’s
eligible for an NBA draft pick in 2023.
SHAREEF O’NEAL At 7-feet-1-inches and 325 pounds, it’s
difficult to know what’s bigger, Shaquille O’Neal or the legacy he’s built for himself.
The monstrous basketball center dominated basketball courts for almost 20 years with
a string of accolades including 4 NBA championship titles, 15 NBA All-Star Awards and countless
MVP awards amongst many, many more.
These days, Big Shaq splits his time between media appearances, cameos and a stint in EDM
DJing.
But it’s Shaq’s son, Shareef O’Neal that’s hogging most of the family limelight
these days.
At 21 years old and measuring in at 6-foot-10-inches, Shareef might not be as physically big as
his famous father, but he’s definitely following in his footsteps.
Shareef started his basketball career in college, first starting with UCLA until a heart condition
forced the young star to undergo open heart surgery in 2019 to fix a faulty artery.
All patched up and nicknamed Zipper Boy, Shareef finished out the 2019-2020 season with UCLA
before switching to LSU, just like his dad had done back in 1991.
Since then, Shareef has adapted to the scrappy style of the SEC, developing into an intimidating
power forward with flashy dunk skills on display.
It remains to be seen whether we’ll see Shareef playing in the NBA, it really depends
on his impact this season, but who wouldn’t want to see Shaq Jr suit up for the Lakers
or Miami just like pops.
JOSEPH BAENA When Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator
told viewers , we thought he was just reading lines.
Turns out he was referring to his mini-me, a clone of himself that for a long time, he
tried to keep secret.
Joseph Baena grew up in the Schwarzenegger family mansion, but he didn’t know the famous
actor was his dad until 2010, when Arnie confessed to an affair with the housekeeper.
Today both father and son train at Gold’s Gym with a fast-bulking Baena quickly resembling
his My Olympiad father.
But it’s not just pumping iron they have in common.
Joseph’s also taken up acting, even reprising one of his dad’s most infamous scenes.
MICK SCHUMACHER One of the greatest F1 drivers of all time,
Michael Schumacher holds the records for the most wins, most pole positions and is tied
with Lewis Hamilton on seven World Drivers Championship titles.
All of this, despite not having raced since 2013.
For the longest time, Schumacher discouraged his only son Mick from pursuing a career in
Formula One racing due to the dangers of the sport.
However when Mick first started racing, he attempted to avoid the spotlight under the
pseudonym Mick Betsch.
But it would seem Michael’s legacy is destined to live on.
His son Mick Schumacher has been racing since 2008 before progressing through the ranks
to Formula 1 racing with Haas- Ferrari.
Debuting in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Swiss-born German spun out on the first lap and unfortunately
finished last.
Since then, he’s slowly improved his standings, demonstrating himself as a capable and intuitive
F1 driver.
CHARLIE WOODS The man who made golf cool again, for a while
at least is none other than Tiger Woods.
With an astounding 82 PGA Tour wins, 15 major championships and more trophies than he knows
what to do with, Tiger achieved the majority of this before he turned 40.
And while his driving skills are a little less than desirable, his golfing talent seems
to have made its way down the family tree.
11-year-old Charlie Woods is already better at golf than 99% of people on the planet.
I suppose having dad as a coach helps.
In August of 2020, Charlie won a local kid’s golf tournament in Florida, shooting an impressive
3-under 33 for 9 holes to win by 5!
But it’s the father-son appearances where the similarities become really apparent – and
it’s not just the color-coordinated outfits either.
At the PNC Championship in Florida, Tiger and Charlie took to the course in matching
red polos.
Charlie showed off an elegant swing for an 11-year-old, even eagling the third hole,
a par five, all by himself.
If Charlie’s already this good, we could be looking at a superstar in the making.
SCOTTY PIPPEN JR Perhaps one of the most prolific ballers of
the 90’s, second only to his teammate Michael Jordan, Scotty Pippen dominated in almost
every game he played for the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers.
Fast forward to today and there’s another Pippen who’s begun his rise into basketball
superstardom.
Scotty Pippen Jr played high school basketball with Sierra Canyon, the same school that Bronny
James currently attends.
As a senior, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game, raising
the eyebrows of talent scouts across the country.
Towards the end of high school, Jr already had scholarship offers from Washington State,
San Francisco, Colorado State as well as a couple others!
In the end, he sided with Vanderbilt University, a private college in Tennessee where he’s
continued to grow into a dangerous attacking player.
In a game against Alcorn State, the enigmatic baller hit 5 of 9 three-pointers and scored
a record 30 individual points to win that game’s MVP.
His lay-up and long-distance game is fast developing and only time will tell if he’lll
surpass his fathers legacy.
LUCA ZIDANE Zinedine Zidane, nicknamed Zizou by his fans
and teammates is a former French footballer and coach of Real Madrid.
During his time coaching the powerhouse club, one player came through the ranks with a familiar
last name.
It was his son Luca Zidane.
To be fair, four of Zidane’s sons went through Real Madrid’s youth program, but it was
during his time as team manager of the top league that Luca was promoted into the squad.
Say what you want about goalkeepers, but Luca’s pre-emptive vision makes him an absolute asset
on the football pitch.
Even when missing his own penalty shot playing for France against Belgium, Luca was still
cheered as a hero for his efforts in front of the net.
But it's not just his football prowess that has people looking at Luca.
The handsome athlete also moonlights as a model in his spare time.