from £250k Leicester title win to £25k Xabi Alonso goal

Football fans try to win money by correctly predicting the outcome of matches. Some punters have made huge returns thanks to specific bets. One fan won £25,000 thanks in part to a long-range goal from Xabi Alonso.

A punter staked £2.50 on a nine-fold accumulator in January 2011. It stood to return a total of £272,000. The accumulators had included Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. Athletic Bilbao secured a draw against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

Adrian Hayward bet £200 that Xabi Alonso would score from inside his own half during the 2005/06 season. Alonso scored from behind the halfway line in the FA Cup third round against Luton Town in January 2006.

Punter who bet £1 on a 15-fold accumulator during the 2014/15 season didn't make all of his returns. He received a pay out worth £72,000 from Leicester's title win and Xabi Alonso's goal.

BetVictor ran a £1m Goal Competition during Euro 2016. Daman Chick won £5 by correctly predicting the scorer and minute of the goal. Eder scored for Portugal in the 109th minute to win the final against France.

One punter placed a 15 fold both teams to score accumulator back in November 2016. They stood to return £112,000 if all their picks came in, but still required one goal heading into the final minutes of their 15th selection. Marten de Roon scored a stoppage time equaliser for Middlesbrough against Manchester City to land the pay out.

Fan cashed out for £72,000 ahead of Leicester's match away to Watford. Leicester won the Premier League title. Leicester had 5,00/1 pre-season odds.