Soccer, a historically macho and specialised game, has produced increasingly diverse talent over the years. With social media, modern marketing partnerships and growing salaries, football players have more opportunities to express their talent in other ways.
Fans who are supporting and experiencing soccer in new ways too. While traditionally the only accessory to watching the game was checking bookies, like at 888Sport, spectators can now express their support for the sport outside of the pitch. This gives soccer players a new opportunity to create a brand and fanbase that’s divorced from their specific club, allowing them to gain recognition for other passions of theirs such as singing. Below are three soccer players who have tried their hand at singing.
Dani Alves
Dani Alves, being the stylish Brazilian that he is, is trying his hand at Latino pop music. The PSG and former Barcelona star is one of the most renowned soccer players in the world and is leveraging this fame to pursue vocals as he approaches the age of athletic retirement.
So far, his Youtube channel has only two songs uploaded; one is considerably more popular than the other at almost 3 million views. Alves has experienced several injuries toward the end of his career, and making songs could have been part of his own rehabilitation techniques. Given that Alves has his own music-focused Youtube channel, it would be surprising if there aren’t more songs from him soon.
Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos, the eternal hero for Real Madrid, brought out a song around the same time as his previous rival Dani Alves. In 2018, the centre-half sang and composed a song with Flamenco Demarco called “Another Star in Your Heart”. This tune has trumped Alves’s with a total of 27 million views to date.
In fairness, he doesn’t appear to be using autotune, although most listeners will either love or hate the music. With 42 million followers on Instagram, Ramos has a colossal fanbase that would no doubt continue to support him outside of soccer. In fact, his social media is often flooded with suave fashion shots that are akin to those of an influencer.
James Allan
James Allan is nowhere near as well-known as the previous two, having only played in the third tier of Scottish football. A decade after helping Cowdenbeath win promotion, James had reached second in the British charts as the lead singer and guitarist of Glasvegas.
Glasvegas have sold hundreds of thousands of records, making James perhaps the most successful singer to come out of soccer. They have even been nominated for numerous awards and have toured the globe.
Allan, whilst he wasn’t extremely well-known as a soccer player, did prove that one can succeed in other ventures if they have a talent, even without the help of Instagram and Youtube. Today, more and more players are venturing into fashion as well as singing, like Hector Bellering, meaning they have something to explore during their retirement from the pitch. By developing these creative hobbies alongside their training schedules, these footballers demonstrate how they achieve a fruitful work-life balance.
