People have recently started questioning if Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. is a soccer player after his announcement to retire from the sport went viral on social media. The answer is no, Speed is not a professional soccer player but he is massively passionate about the sport and follows it religiously.
In fact, the YouTube streamer considers Cristiano Ronaldo his idol and wishes to perform like him one day. He is known to regularly follow soccer tournaments from around the world and has even traveled to several countries like Portugal and Japan to attend matches. His visit to Portugal was specifically special as he got to meet his Idol Ronaldo. Surprisingly, the soccer superstar recognized Speed, made sure to meet him, and even clicked a few pictures together. Today, he remains in close contact with Ronaldo’s son and family.
A few months back, Speed’s love for soccer took him to Brazil. He was seen playing street soccer in one of the Brazilian Favelas. IShowSpeed was also spotted at the Brazilian soccer team practice session, where he got to meet Endrick, a Brazilian soccer player set to join the Real Madrid football club. Interestingly, Speed’s Brazil tour did not end there as he even met Ronaldo Nazario, a legendary soccer player, who allowed the streamer to lift his Ballon d’Or trophy. Some other popular soccer players Speed has met include, Rafael Leao, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, and more.
IShowSpeed has never let go of opportunities to play in charity soccer matches. The streaming sensation has been a member of the YouTube All-Stars team for the past two seasons. He also recently played at the Qatar “Match for Hope” soccer charity match. Unfortunately, his poor performance and reckless challenge against soccer legend Kaka led to massive backlash. This backlash forced him to reconsider his soccer journey and he ultimately decided to retire from the sport.
How did IShowSpeed fall in love with soccer?
Readers will be surprised to know that IShowSpeed has been a soccer fanatic for just a couple of years now. According to what Speed said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE podcast show, the first soccer match the streamer ever watched was the UCL final game in 2022. He further added, “I think it was Liverpool vs Real Madrid. That was like the first game I ever watched.”
He claimed he could not comprehend what was happening in that match. However, he took time to understand the sport and all the adjoining technicalities. Once he understood the game, he fell in love and has been watching it ever since. During the podcast, he was also asked about his craze for Cristiano Ronaldo. As a matter of fact, he has created a song about the legend and has his tattoo on his arm.
The YouTube sensation revealed that it was a “Love at first sight” kind of situation with Cristiano Ronaldo. The first time he saw him playing, he was amazed by his sense of presence, his stance, his playing skills, and especially his free kicks. Since then, Speed has followed all his games and even traveled to Portugal to meet him. Furthermore, Speed is on pretty friendly terms with Ronaldo’s son and he believes CR7 is the best in everything there is about soccer. Speed’s love for soccer has also led to him playing FIFA on-stream, while his humorous gameplay boosted his popularity further.
