Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady spoke about the state of soccer in the United States, pointing out what’s missing for the sport to rise in popularity and relevance in across the country.
Brady gave an interview to the Men in Blazers podcast and gave his thoughts on what it’ll take for soccer to become a dominant sport in the U.S..
“The youth in America and soccer, we need a young phenom like Lamine Yamal or a young Lionel Messi to take over,” Brady said. “I believe there would be the most amazing kind of cultural revolution for soccer here in America.”
“We love rooting for winners, we love rooting for the best of the best. The World Cup is coming to America in 2026, you can’t imagine the fanfare when that happens. Every stadium will be sold out. The American audience loves it.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion has a very clear pathway for soccer to grow in the U.S. However, it’s much easier said than done. Yamal and Messi are not only two of the most talented young players of the century, they’re two generational talents with Messi being widely regarded as the greatest player ever and Yamal touted to have all-time great potential.
The quality of the pair of Barcelona academy graduates is exceptionally hard to find. Still, Brady believes it’s what it’ll take for soccer to compete with more prominent U.S. sports such as the NBA, NFL and MLB.
“These other sports just become very dominant because of culturally what’s on television all the time and what‘s being talked about in the schoolyard ends up being [NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL].”
Brady believes that whenever a U.S. born soccer superstar comes around, the sport will organically grow stateside. For the time being, the former New England Patriots quarterback will continue being involved in the sport as the minority owner of Birmingham City, looking to take the English side back to the Premier League.
“In the meantime, we’re cheering for Birmingham City, everything they’ve got going on. We’ve got to travel to the U.K. to see some stadiums that are full and we’re willing to do that because we love this club.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tom Brady Says USMNT ‘Need’ a Player Like Two Barcelona Superstars.
