Marching On Together

In recent years, we’ve seen some major links between celebrities and their involvement in football. Most notably, Wrexham experienced a takeover in 2021 from Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and the likes of Will Ferrell who purchased a minority stake in Leeds United through 49ers Enterprises. Celebrities having side hustles isn't a new thing, and there are a lot more than you may think. Today, we will be looking at 3 celebrities that you didn’t know invested in football.

Lebron James

Lebron James is credited as being one of the greatest basketball players of all time. James is one of the most decorated NBA players in the history of the sport, putting him up there with legends such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. He started his career in 2002 and continues to play at the highest level for the LA Lakers as of 2025. The 21-time NBA All-Star is not only regarded as one of the greatest basketball players but one of the greatest athletes of all time. Lebron has built his career at 3 major NBA clubs, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. Despite still playing at the highest level, the 40-year-old may not have many playing years left in his career and has already made several different expansions into a variety of different industries.

Liverpool Football Club is one of Lebron’s many investments in sports. Lebron invested in Liverpool FC way back in 2011 during the takeover with Fenway Sports Group. He purchased a minority stake of 2% in the club and, as of 2025, still owns part of the club. James’ love for the club is evident as he speaks about the club in the media, shares support on social media, and wears the club’s merchandise publicly, even when attending his basketball games with the Lakers. As a result of his partnership with FSG (owners of Liverpool FC), he has been able to involve himself with other sporting teams, such as Boston Red Sox and even Italian giants, AC Milan.

Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan is a world-famous actor and Hollywood star who is featured in some of the most popular films on the planet, including the Creed series, Black Panther, and Fantastic Four. He rose to fame starting his career in the early 2000s, featuring as a guest on many shows, with his first big role landing in Fruitvale Station in 2013. He’s had many different ventures throughout his career, spanning from being a villain in Black Panther to acting in TV shows to directing and starring in Creed III. His career has been extremely successful, and he has even ventured into the world of investments.

One of Jordan’s investments that came in 2022 was Bournemouth AFC. The Premier League side was taken over that year, and the famous actor was part of that consortium. The club are relatively small in comparison to the other clubs in the league, with one of the smallest stadiums the league has seen in recent years, however, recent investments into the club have got the team pushing European spots in the 2024/25 season. Jordan involves himself with the club by attending games, bringing global publicity to the club and helping with the kit design. Similar to Lebron James, Michael B Jordan is very involved in supporting the club and is respected by the fans.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady is one of the greatest players ever to play American Football. The quarterback is known around the world for his dedication to his sport, ability, and overall attitude towards sports, being a very inspirational figure. He is one of the most decorated players in the history of the sport, with 7 Super Bowl wins, amongst many other individual and team awards, more than any other player in the history of the sport. The 47-year-old played for 2 teams in his career, The New England Patriots from 2000-2019 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020-2022. Brady officially retired from the sport in 2022, leaving behind a legacy of being one of the greatest to have ever played, which doesn't look like it will be taken away from him any time soon

Tom Brady ensured stability in his career after retirement when he set up his own investment company, RedBird Capital Investors. The company has invested in serval different sports-associated clubs and media outlets, highlighting the athlete's love and passion for sports. Brady’s investments in football clubs haven’t just stopped at one club; in fact, he has invested in 3 clubs across 3 different countries, showing his versatile love for the game. The first of his 3 investments came in 2020 when the investment company purchased a controlling stake in the French side, Toulouse.

The investment came at a time when the club wanted to make a big push into the first division of French football, which was successful, taking them into the first division and even to a European competition. The second investment came in 2021 when RedBird invested in FSG, the owners of Liverpool FC. This investment gave RedBird indirect ownership of the English giants but helped the company get a foot into some of the biggest clubs in Europe. A year later, RedBird invested in the Italian club AC Milan. The extremely prestigious club saw a majority takeover of 70% from Brady’s investment company, making it the biggest they had made out of all 3 football clubs they invested in. There are no plans to slow down any time soon, with PSG being the next target for the investors only adding to their already incredible portfolio.