Soccer Stars Who Are Building Creative Legacies
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup currently at play, it is no secret that soccer is one of the most universally celebrated sports with approximately 3.5 billion fans worldwide. These soccer players are not only making an impact on the field, but many of them are also making waves through the creative and business industries.
Professional Soccer players and clubs are consistently some of the most followed accounts across all social media platforms. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Megan Rapinoe, Ali Riley, and Lionel Messi have podcasts, are influencers, published authors, artists, and founders. Their influence is undeniable. Apart from being soccer stars on the field, the creative community is a space where these athletes get to showcase their lifestyles and personalities. Fans can feel like they have a sense of who these players are, what they stand for, and can relate to them.
Check out a few of the innovative players who have demonstrated their talents both on and off the soccer field.
Ali Riley: Author, Host, and Advocate
Renowned former New Zealand defender and captain, Ali Riley, has made 163 international appearances on the field and has competed in five World Cups and four Olympic Games. Her versatile skills made her a threat as a defender and a key player for New Zealand and every club team she has been on. She has played for the Women’s Chelsea Team and FC Bayern Munich as well as for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) for Orlando Pride and Angel City FC. As she has made waves in soccer, she has also dived into the creator world.
Beyond the Field
Before Riley’s retirement from soccer in 2025, she co-authored Girls Gone Veg, a vegan cookbook with her former teammate, Toni Pressley. In 2021, the Brentwood Art Center announced a merit-based award supported by Riley’s family, called the Ali Lowe Riley Award that supports the artistic development for young people through providing art supplies, courses, portfolio reviews, and mentoring.
Riley states on her website, “All in all, I aim to use my platform as a professional athlete to help create accessibility to healthy food options and advocate in elevating opportunities for women.” Now, she is a sports broadcaster, UNICEF advocate, and co-host of the Time Wasting Podcast with former USWNT defender Kelley O’Hara.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Founder and Influencer
At just 17 years old, Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo, began his professional soccer career with Manchester United in 2003 where he played for six years and became a dominant attacker. For the next nine years of his career he played for his “dream club,” Real Madrid. There, he became the club’s leading scorer with 451 goals and four Champions League titles. Considered to be one of the best soccer players in the world, Ronaldo is the all-time top male goal scorer and has the most international victories in men’s soccer. But Ronaldo is more than just a soccer player.
Beyond the Field
Ronaldo is the most followed person on Instagram with 667 million followers and is known for sharing glimpses of his lifestyle, family, soccer, and brand deals. Not only has he amassed a huge following, but he also founded his own brand, CR7 that consists of athletic gear, fragrances, underwear, footwear, and water.
He has stated that “Fashion and design are two passions of mine…working on this collection alongside Richard [Chai] has given me a great creative outlet and I have loved every part of collaborating on the range, from selecting the colours and designs to testing the styles and fits myself.”
Ronaldo is so popular that he has a museum dedicated to him and his achievements that is located in Madeira, Portugal, his hometown. The museum showcases some of Ronaldo’s most prized trophies and even a chocolate sculpture of him made by Chocolatier, Jorge Cardoso.
He also has his own YouTube channel, UR Cristiano, with over 80 million subscribers where he posts exclusive interviews, collaborations with other YouTube creators, events he attends, his soccer training and recovery, and challenges.
Megan Rapinoe: Activist and Host
Activist and former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) and Seattle Reign FC star, Megan Rapinoe, known for her creative and skilled style of play, won two Women’s World Cup Championships in 2015 and 2019, Olympic Gold in 2012, ESPN’s ESPY Award for Best Player of the Year, and 2019 Best FIFA Women’s Player, just to name a few. Rapinoe is also an avid advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and is heavily involved in the fight for equal pay in women’s sports. So, her work off the field is just as impactful as it was on the field.
Beyond the Field
Rapinoe started the podcast, A Touch More: The Beautiful Game, originally alongside WNBA star, Sue Bird, in partnership with Vox Media and TOGETHXR. This podcast features sports, culture, and interviews with special guests. She is now the sole host of the podcast and has been featuring special guests from the soccer world in a World Cup series where they talk about soccer history, inspirations, fandom, and culture.
It was announced in 2024 that Rapinoe and Sue Bird are executive producers for a TV show that is in the works, Playing the Field, which is based off the bestselling novel Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner about a queer soccer romance. Rapinoe and Bird have also produced a short film series, Unstoppable: Stories of Strength, spotlighting the female-athlete experience and the underrepresented challenges that they face. Rapinoe and Bird stated during an interview with Variety, “From motherhood to injuries to aging, these are stories that rarely get told but mean everything to the athletes living them.”
Lionel Messi: Founder
Argentina soccer legend Lionel Messi is the most decorated player in soccer history with 46 team trophies. Messi made his professional debut at 17 years old in 2004 with FC Barcelona where he played for 17 years. He has the record for the most goals scored for a single club team, most goals scored in a FIFA World Cup, and most international assists in soccer. He is notably one of the most tactical and skilled soccer players in sports history and led Argentina to a World Cup victory in 2022. Messi has not only become a leader in the soccer world, but he has also made a name for himself in the business and creative world.
Beyond the Field
Messi is the second most followed person on Instagram (508.8 million followers) and has become a dominant figure in the business and creative world. In 2017, Messi founded luxury hotel chain, MiM Hotels, and since then has launched and partnered with several businesses, including 525 Rosario Media Company. Messi founded 525 Rosario Media Company, which works with Hollywood Studios and is based in Miami and Los Angeles and makes digital series, family shows, and sports productions.
In 2025, Messi collaborated with digital artist, Refik Anadol, on Living Memory: A Goal in Life, which is an immersive, AI-driven sculpture and experience inspired by what Messi selected to be his most meaningful goal throughout his 20-year career, his header in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. The proceeds from this project go to multiple nonprofits, as well as Inter Miami CF Foundation’s partnership with UNICEF, which aids access to education programs in five countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. Messi stated, “This project means a lot to me…it recalls a special moment in my career, but also…thanks to such a unique artist like Refik, it can help improve the lives of others who truly need it.”
More Than Soccer Players
Riley, Ronaldo, Rapinoe, and Messi are far more than just soccer players, and they show that creators come in all forms and from different backgrounds. Not only do these athletes continue to impact the soccer world, but they have influenced the entertainment, production, business, and creative industries; and they are not the only ones. As we continue to support these athletes, let’s celebrate all that they create and how they show us that no dream is too big, too small, nor could you have too many.
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