Carlos Valderrama and 10 Footballers Turned Politicians

Last week, the curiously named Colombian political party "U" named Carlos Valderrama as one of their candidates for the 2014 national elections. 

The legendary midfielder, however, is by no means the first professional footballer to transition into a career in politics.

Here are 10 other players who have pursued government office when they hung up their boots. 

Showing that there is more to his skill set than scoring goals and shilling for erectile dysfunction drugs, Pele became Brazil's Minister of Sports under President Fernando Henrique Cardoso between 1995 and 2001. 

The Brazilian left the position amid a scandal concerning his sports firm and stolen charity money. 

Pele wasn't the first Brazilian star to hold the Minister of Sports role, as Zico assumed the position for around a year following his retirement in 1990.

He helped push a piece of legislation dealing with the business side of sports teams.  

World Cup winner Romario was seldom out of trouble during his playing days, but he has started behaving himself enough to forge a relatively successful political career.

At the 2010 Brazilian general election, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies representing the Brazilian Socialist Party. 

Romario's voice was one of the loudest during the summer's Confederations Cup, when he protested the money being squandered in hosting the World Cup. 

By this point, you may be starting to think there are no Brazilian football legends who haven't run for office!

Socrates counts Fidel Castro and Che Guevara among his heroes and was a member of Brazil's Workers' Party. While at Corinthians, he also co-founded the Corinthians' Democracy movement, which opposed the military ruling government and its treatment of football players.  

In 2005, 10 years after he was crowned World Player of the Year, George Weah ran for the presidency in his native Liberia. He was very popular but ultimately unsuccessful, due to voters' concerns over his relative lack of formal education compared to his opponents. 

The former Milan star ran once again in 2011, attempting to become vice president. 

Dynamo Kyiv manager and 1975 Ballon d'Or winner Oleg Blokhin was elected to Ukrainian parliament for left-wing party Hromada in 1998.

He was actually an active member of parliament while coaching the Ukraine national team, a dual mandate against which his opponents protested. 

Not only does Zenit St Petersburg striker Andrey Arshavin hold a degree in fashion and one of the most hilarious non-ironic personal websites in football, but he also has a political background.

The former Arsenal star stood for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in local elections during his first spell at Zenit in 2007. Sadly, he withdrew shortly before the vote.  

Unlike Arshavin, Lokomotiv Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko went the distance for Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.

Since 2008 he has been a Duma (city council) deputy in his home town of Stavropol, a duty he managed to uphold even while playing at Tottenham. 

After retiring from playing in 2003, Belgium national team coach Marc Wilmots was elected to the Belgian senate with the Mouvement Réformateur, a French-speaking liberal party. 

After two years on the job, he resigned. This unconventional move drew plenty of criticism. 

Midfielder Gianni Rivera spent 19 seasons at Milan, winning two European Cups and three Scudetti in the process. 

In 1986, he became a member of Italian parliament, no doubt helped by the influence of incoming Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. These days, he is a member of European parliament for the left-wing Olive Tree coalition party. 

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