Soccer, 1983
Robert Peak
RoGallery
Whether they call it soccer, football, or the beautiful game, soccer and art share points of intersection beyond aesthetics. Both are primarily visual experiences that viewers feel passionate about. Some stadiums have been compared to cathedrals or museums for the sport, and a direct crossover between soccer and art has deep roots.
Many artists have made works about soccer. Zinedine Zidane, for instance, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, has been the subject of at least two artworks: Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon’s film Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006), in which 17 cameras followed the player in real time for one game, and Adel Abdessemed’s sculpture of the player in his last World Cup appearance (Headbutt, 2012).
Still, the art-and-soccer discourse tends to focus on representations of the game. But several players have themselves expressed an interest in and engaged with contemporary art as painters, curators, collectors and hobbyists.
Here, we spotlight five names engaged in art.
David Beckham
The consummate collector
One of the most famous players ever to kick a soccer ball, the English former midfielder (and current A-lister) started collecting art with his wife, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, in the early 2000s.
A product of their time coming up in 1990s Britain, the couple bought works by several Young British Artists, including Damien Hirst, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Sam Taylor-Johnson, and Tracey Emin. To their collection, they have since added pieces by the likes of Nan Goldin, Banksy, Yayoi Kusama, and Yoshitomo Nara, as well as some older works by Edgar Degas and Claude Monet.
Beckham, ubiquitous in Qatar during the first edition of Art Basel Qatar earlier this year, has often professed an interest in art and design, and has stated before that had he not become a soccer player, he would have wanted to be an artist.
Victoria hosted an exhibition of Old Master works at her store in Mayfair in association with Sotheby’s in 2018, and last year curated an exhibition with the auction house of works by 10 artists, including George Condo, Richard Prince, and Yves Klein. Some works were also shown at her fashion boutique on Dover Street in West London.
Victoria hosted an exhibition of Old Master works at her store in Mayfair in association with Sotheby’s in 2018, and last year curated an exhibition with the auction house of works by 10 artists, including George Condo, Richard Prince, and Yves Klein. Some works were also shown at her fashion boutique on Dover Street in West London.
Beckham shares his interest in art collecting with his former England manager Fabio Capello, who has a collection that includes several works by Wassily Kandinsky. Another prominent former soccer player and collector is German midfielder Michael Ballack, who won the World Cup with his country in 2014 and has recently been spotted at art fairs, including Art Basel Paris and Frieze.
Juan Mata
The keen curator
When Juan Mata played for Manchester United, he regularly visited the local Whitworth Gallery. In a 2015 blog post, he wrote of finding inspiration for his playing in an exhibition by Cai Guo-Qiang.
When Mata met curator Hans-Ulrich Obrist, his long-standing interest in art and Obrist’s matched interest in soccer led them to collaborate (along with writer, filmmaker, and curator Josh Willdigg) on the exhibition “Football City, Art United” as part of the 2025 Manchester International Festival. They paired a team of 11 soccer players—including Ella Toone, who plays for the Manchester United women’s team, and their former United star Eric Cantona—with a “starting eleven” of artists.
Cantona, for instance, was paired with conceptual artist Ryan Gander, and they created three artworks together; Toone was matched with art collective Keiken, who created a massive sculpture of a mask-portrait, The Divine Puppeteer (2025), based on Toone’s spirit animal.
David James
The practicing painter
The day after Spain beat Saudi Arabia 4–0 in the 2026 World Cup, former England and Liverpool goalkeeper David James posted a manga-style drawing of Spain’s young star attacker Lamine Yamal in his national team kit, posture mid-jump, seen from behind, head (including very recognizable bleached-blond hair) turned back.
It wasn’t just a doodle: James has been painting since his playing days to relax and has garnered a reputation for portraying soccer-related subjects. These have included a portrait of trailblazing female soccer player Gill Sayell and a painting of Bobby Moore, who captained England on their only World Cup title win (thus far), shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II (he painted it for a charity auction for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research U.K.).
But James’s art goes beyond soccer subjects. He also paints his cats, landscapes, interior scenes, and a copy of the Notting Hill movie poster, replacing Hugh Grant with himself (citing the lack of ethnic diversity in the movie; it was also made for a charity auction).
Lotte Wubben-Moy
The cerebral subject
English defender Lotte Wubben-Moy has been the subject of a couple of paintings by soccer-loving artist Rose Wylie. The collaboration entailed Wiley transforming snapshots from daily life—training, match days, behind-the-scenes photographs—that Wubben-Moy sent her into a series of paintings and drawings, playful in their own right. Wubben-Moy was a perfect choice for the project, as she was already interested in art. “Football is art. I really believe that. It’s a space where you can create, express yourself and be free,” she wrote in a piece for The Players’ Tribune.
The origin of these ideas, she explained, traces back to her upbringing in East London, an area rich in young creatives, artists’ studios, music venues, and soccer cages that she played in as a kid. Wubben-Moy draws inspiration from both, looking back at her childhood in this creative part of town and describing her life and community in these terms—how the color of the grass was like paint, “the pitch was our big rectangular canvas.”
Playing as a professional for Arsenal Women, she also started Lots to Explore, a community project encouraging creative pursuits like art and writing that offers free sessions for young girls in North London, blending soccer and creativity.
Héctor Bellerin
The game’s aesthete
In an interview with the Guardian, Real Betis player Héctor Bellerin recalled a conversation with an artist friend about art helping him through a period of struggling with mental health. “I used to pass by and say I liked things, but then I started to analyse the meanings more,” he said.
Bellerin, a defender who played for Spain and spent 10 years at London club Arsenal, is well-recognized for the diversity of his interests beyond sport. He is an avid reader who posts the books he reads on Instagram, and he once commissioned a portrait of himself from London street artist ENDLESS. He met the British street artist alongside his then Arsenal teammate Alex Iwobi at a solo exhibition of the artist’s work in 2017. The following year, the artist gifted Bellerin a print of himself.
Bellerin is also an amateur photographer as well. In 2021, Bellerin also co-curated a photography exhibition of photos taken by Syrian children refugees who were given cameras by the charity Coaching for Life.
