Footballers have downtime. That much is clear from their ability to let off fireworks inside their homes and send threatening Twitter messages to themselves, in public, by mistake. Between training and scoring the winner at Old Trafford, they’ve time to reflect on things, invest their wages wisely and maybe even do the unthinkable and scour musical happenings for a hobby. It was a rare phenomenon in 2012, when Leighton Baines was given licence to start his own music blog on Everton’s official club site. Now, footballers’ obsession – or in some cases, dependence – on music is becoming clearer. When Louis Van Gaal demands at a post-season dinner that everybody applauds “a lady who plays the saxophone fantastically”, it’s clear things are getting serious.
So here’s a guide to the high-profile Premier League footballers stepping out from behind the pitch and laying their Spotify playlists to the mast. These are the names who could, if all things go haywire, shun the Match of the Day pundit job for a buzz band.
Leighton Baines
It has to begin with Everton’s indie-loving left back. Leighton Baines is the man who caught Tame Impala’s hype before they decided to make a pop record with Currents. When The xx and Lana Del Rey were starting out and riding the blog wave, this man saw where they were going. And in posts since deleted from Everton FC’s site, he cited the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach as a skilled producer. With a similar style to his direct, passing game, Baines knows talent when he spots it, and he’s not afraid to stick his neck out to get results. Writing like a seasoned pro, he’s previously praised Jack White’s “armoury” of a back catalogue. Music’s great loss, however, is that he’s since given up the blogging game, and there’s no Twitter account to keep track of his new discoveries. In Baines’ shadow, new faces have emerged from the Premier League pack.
Daniel Sturridge
To be fair to Baines, blogging has moved on from guitar-centric recommendations and into a more pop-oriented world. The first player to catch this new wave was Daniel Sturridge. Labelled the “only hipster footballer” by Vice, the Liverpool forward latched on to the promising careers of Jessie Ware and LA singer Banks. He was seen hanging out backstage in the circles of future superstars. Things came to a head when the club’s YouTube channel posted a video of both Sturridge and teammate Jordan Ibe covering Drake’s Too Much. Both took on Sampha’s emotive vocal, but it was Sturridge leading the Drizzy rap – clearly, this man was a cut above. Unfortunately, as with Baines, his reputation has declined. A recurring injury has hit this striker hard, and the only thing missing him more than Liverpool’s goal tally is music itself. Instead of checking out FKA twigs’ new sound installation, he’s been solely focused on training.
Juan Mata
Half-decent Spotify playlists are tricky beasts to pin down. Algorithms can’t set the agenda for club bangers, and it’s still down to personal taste to help pave the way for a party selection. Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata is the people’s choice when it comes to this. Yes, there are blips, but who else can combine Beirut’s triumphant horn-led pop with Imagine Dragons and Pixies in the space of 10 songs? His precise passes split open defences, and his daring song selections split opinion. Three playlists exist to his name, but already Mata is revealing himself to be a dark horse, waiting in the wings until David De Gea can be convinced to stop playing Slayer in the dressing room. Ryan Giggs once told Spotify: “I find Calvin Harris quite motivating at the moment.” If anything can revive United for good, it’s Mata’s love of the Strokes.
Peter Crouch
He might appear to be winding down the years notching up tap-ins for Stoke, but Peter Crouch has been carefully planning his musical ascent. Nobody – not even Baines in his heyday – comes close to this 6 ft 7 in striker’s love of indie. It began with an episode of Later … with Jools Holland – days later, on Twitter, Crouch praised “the fella from future islands” (aka Samuel T Herring) and his outlandish dancing. Months on, and he was appearing in the music video for Birmingham band Peace’s Gen Strange video. Taking a starring role, Crouch called frontman Harrison Koisser a “fucking emo”. That gave him indie credibility for life. Since then, he’s established a reputation. According to Liverpool band Gulf, he was “backstage getting his guitar signed” by headline acts at local festival Sound City. Look up the hashtag #indiepete, and it’s clear Crouch’s musical ascent hasn’t stopped yet.
Petr Cech
Around the time he dropped out of Chelsea’s first team, goalkeeper Petr Cech opened a YouTube channel. Behind the gloves, it emerged, was an aspiring drummer. Since turning on the webcam, Cech has performed covers of some of his favourite bands, many of which are delivered in “one take”. Ranging from Foo Fighters to Stereophonics, these covers are best when they’re specific – as when he took on a version of Coldplay’s Clocks, performed at an Austin, Texas, show. Studio recordings aren’t good enough for these safe hands. There’s been a notable change in tone with his drum covers, too. Since it became clear he was going to be leaving Chelsea, the songs he’s taken on have shifted. Titles include Magnificent (by U2), For the First Time (the Script), Cheers (Rihanna) and Stereophonics’ Have a Nice Day. Cech is happy, and, if anything, more game-time could help bring out the superstar drummer in this promising talent.
