It’s been a wild few days in football — not in terms of rumbling transfer sagas, VAR-related controversies or eyebrow-raising results, but in terms of a surprising amount of new music being released by active players.
Monterrey defender Sergio Ramos has released a solo song entitled “Cibeles,” which appears to be a reference to the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid where Real famously celebrate all of their major trophies and titles, of which the 39-year-old veteran won many.
Mi historia, mi música. // My story, my music.
CIBELES – August 31
19h CEST
1PM ET
12PM CT pic.twitter.com/9anCsHpdzt— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) August 30, 2025
Ramos also seems to ruminate on his emotional exit from the Bernabeu in 2021, crooning “There’s something I never told you: it still hurts, I never wanted to leave.” Apparently against his wishes, the centre-back left and signed for Paris Saint-Germain after amassing five LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues during his 16-year stint with Los Blancos.
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It’s also not the first time he has tried his hand at music, with Ramos also singing lead vocals on a song entitled “La Roja Baila” (“The Red Dance”), which became Spain’s official single for Euro 2016.
Amazingly, Ramos hasn’t been the only active professional footballer to release new music this month with Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise beating his Spanish counterpart to the punch by several days.
Olise debuted a new track titled “Say Less” on social media along with a video that showed the former Crystal Palace star wearing a headscarf, goggles and posing with a bright orange BMX bike.
Of course, footballers dabbling in musical side projects is nothing new with many classic examples having cropped up over the years, from John Barnes’ rap interlude in New Order’s “World in Motion” to the timeless pop singles released by the likes of Ruud Gullit, Andy Cole plus Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle during the 1980s and 1990s.
There are also a raft of slightly more contemporary tracks, many of which have a notably similar rap-lite feel. Jese Rodriguez can be considered a modern day trail-blazer in that regard, with the ex-Real Madrid, PSG and Stoke City midfielder releasing his first material in 2014.
Ryan Babel took the unusual step of releasing his autobiography in the form of a rap album, with several songs causing a ripple of controversy within the Dutch football sphere for dissing his former teammates.
Memphis Depay is arguably one of the most prolific musical footballers with the Netherlands international regularly foisting new tracks and lavish promo videos on the general public. He even chose to celebrate Corinthians’ Brazilian title win in 2025 by recording bespoke rap track “Peita do Coringão” (“The Shirt of the Coringão”) for the occasion.
Alphonso Davies has tried his hand at rap and even announced his contract extension with Bayern Munich earlier this year with a track entitled “Munchen my Throne,” which doesn’t entirely work as pun but hey-ho.
Romelu Lukaku collaborated with Belgian vocalist TheColorGrey to create a song called “New Levels,” which charted the striker’s rise from childhood prodigy to international level battering ram.
After calling time on his playing career, Djibril Cisse was instantly able to focus his efforts on his true passion and has regularly DJ’ed all around the world ever since. The former Liverpool and Marseille striker regularly releases dance tracks.
Performing under the alias “Deuce”, Clint Dempsey was a prominent exponent of the rapping footballer during the mid-2000s and even saw his magnum opus, a song entitled “Dont’ Tread,” used on a Nike commercial for the 2006 World Cup.
However, when it comes to footballing rap gods, all others must bow before Erling Haaland. As unlikely as it may seem, the Manchester City colossus laid down the blueprint at the age of 16 when he performed as part of the “Flow Kingz” alongside his fellow Norway under-19 teammates.
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