VC FC

Football players may not be the most obvious investors that spring to mind but the current generation is changing all that, as they seek out VC investments beyond the football pitch. And prove that beyond the on-field histrionics, some of them really are Angels. Former footballers such as French international Olivier Dacourt are turning the tables by investing in Revyze, dubbed the TikTok of education, with Rio Ferdinand and Gerard Pique also building significant post-career wealth backing NFT trading card game Sorare. Chris Smalling and Mario Gotze, both still active footballers, are rising to prominence in the investment world too as they seek to become pitch-perfect. This new era of footballers-cum-investors is hardly likely to have professional investors shaking in their boots. But substituting one pitch for another looks to be gathering momentum.