A study has claimed that footballers are more intelligent than the likes of physics genius Professor Stephen Hawking.

The findings, which were carried out by experts at the Montreal University, Canada, show that highly-regarded players including the likes of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Barcelona star Lionel Messi are able to process what they see faster than an intelligent university scholar.

"Athletes are able to hyper-focus their attention to enhance learning, which is key to their abilities," the Daily Star quotes Professor Jocelyn Faubert, who wrote the report, as saying.

The study also claimed that most footballers could become scientists if they switched professions.