When Footballers Make Music: The Best and Worst Attempts

Like Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz discovering calculus independently of one another, the quote has been said in some form or another by the likes of Lil Wayne, J. Cole, Dwyane Wade, and countless other music artists, athletes, and pundits. With the line between artist and athlete more blurred than ever, we take a look at some of the best and worst attempts from footballers making music.

Best Amadou Onana Considering Amadou Onana is a no-nonsense box-to-box midfielder, some may assume that his to-do list merely consists of crunching into tackles and covering every blade of grass. However, Onana is a man of many talents and off the pitch, one of them includes singing. The Belgian, whose stage name is 24 AM, cannot be boxed in as an artist as he explores different genres throughout his music — from R&B and French rap to “Sexy Drill.

” The Aston Villa dynamo has released a mere four singles, but his best work to date is “Check On Me” — a soulful R&B track where he raps in both French and English — exploring personal relationships, betrayal, and dark times behind closed doors. The hook stands out on the 2024 single, and in fairness to Onana, the same can be said for all of his releases, “My Space” and “Mexique” in particular. Onana is a multi-talented musician and perhaps one day, he too could find tangible success in his second love like former Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Pinto, who famously became a Grammy award-winning record producer after retiring.

Rafael Leao Flamboyant, expressive, and self-assured are adjectives one would use to describe Rafael Leao as a footballer, and the same applies to him as an artist. Much like Onana, Leao is also a multilingual artist that releases music under a different moniker, WAY 45. He raps in both Portuguese and English that is typified by a melodic, trap heavy sound.