The Watches of Famous Soccer Players (Footballers) - From Messi to Ronaldo

While soccer may be a distant 5th in terms of popularity in the United States (after football, basketball, baseball and hockey), it is the most popular sport worldwide. Many of the most valuable sports franchises are soccer teams, so it makes sense that team owners would have a lot of money to throw at the very best soccer players. This results in the world’s premiere footballers having some really nice wristwear. I’ll go through some of them watches here, from Messi to Ronaldo, and many more.

What watch does Cristiano Ronaldo wear?

Cristiano Ronaldo is a forward for Juventus and the Portugal national team. Before Juventus, Ronaldo played for Sporting CP in Portugal, followed by Manchester United and Real Madrid. Ronaldo is often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.

Ronald is something of a watch collector. He has been seen wearing many different watches over his career from Rolex to Jacob & Co. However, he has flashy collection of Rolexes that I would like to highlight in this article.

In 2008, early in his career, Ronaldo wore a classic steel Rolex Daytona with black dial. This is perhaps one of my favorite watches worn by Ronaldo (and not just because I own the white dial variation). It is simple and classic, something that you cannot really associate with Ronaldo’s more recent watch purchases.

As noted, Ronaldo's taste has become more flamboyant over time. In 2019, Ronaldo was spotted wearing a white gold Rolex GMT Master II with factory set diamonds. This piece, Ref. 116769TBR, is the most expensive Rolex ever, made with a price point of $485,350 USD.

Recently, in 2021, Ronaldo was seen at a press conference during the UEFA tournament, wearing another Rolex Daytona, this time in rose gold with a 36 baguette-cut sapphire rainbow bezel. The dial on Ronaldo's timepiece appears to be mother of pearl, which isn’t a factory offering on this Daytona. It is likely that this was a custom dial. I guess if you have the money, who cares if you customize your already really expensive Rolex?

What watch does Lionel Messi wear?

Lionel Messi is an Argentinian Soccer star who plays for Paris-Saint German (or PSG). He recently left Barcelona, where he had played since he was 17 years old to sign a 2-year contract with PSG.

Like Ronaldo, Messi is also a watch collector, and has been spotted over his career wearing many different high end timepieces. Some of these pieces were the result of collaborations while others were from his own collection.

Early on in his career Messi could be seen wearing many different Audemars Piguet Royal Oak models. One such model was the Royal Oak Jumbo Extra Thin Ref. 15202 circa 2010 and in white (currently, the 15202 is only offered in the highly sought after blue dial). Like most Royal Oaks, the price of this piece has skyrocketed, and is being sold on the secondary market for close to $90,000 USD.

Over the past couple of years, Messi has collaborated with Jacob & Co. to release the Epic X Chronograph Messi Edition. The Epic X represents Jacob & Co’s more affordable line, relatively speaking. When the bulk of their watches range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 USD, a watch line that ranges from $25,000 to $50,000 USD might be considered affordable.

This year, upon arrival in Paris to join PSG, Messi was spotted wearing a gold Rolex Yacht-Master. While Messi collaborated with both Audemars Piguet and Jacob & Co., his Rolex was from his own personal collection (Rolex really only sponsors Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer).

What watch does Son Heung-min wear?

Son Heung-min is a South Korean soccer star for the Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League. Son also captains the South Korean national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best wingers in the world and one of the best Asian players in European football history. Son was the first Asian player to score more than 50 goals in the Premier League.

Son has been spotted wearing a blue dial Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711. These pieces are selling for over 3 times retail on the secondary market (though the model has been discontinued). After discontinuing the the blue dial 5711, Patek Philippe released a green dial steel Nautilus 5711. The green dial variation is even more limited, is only being offered to Patek Philippe’s best customers for a year, and are selling for over 10 times the retail value of $34,893 USD.

What watch does Eerling Haaland wear?

Eerling Haaland is a Norwegian footballer who plays striker for the German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Norway national team. Haaland is known a prolific goal-scorer, having scored 49 goals in his first three seasons in the German Bundesliga (German’s highest tier soccer league). At only 21 years of age, Haaland has a very bright future.

Haaland also has great taste in watches. He was recently spotted wearing a platinum Rolex Daytona. While the retail price for Haaland’s Daytona is $75,650 USD, it is currently selling on the secondary market for $100,000-plus.

What watch does Kevin de Bruyne wear?

Kevin de Bruyne is a Belgian soccer player for the Manchester City of the Premier League and the Belgian national team. De Bruyne is widely considered one of the best midfielders of his generation.

De Bruyne has been spotted wearing a variety of nice watches, including a gold Rolex Daytona. He was also pictured in 2020, during the UEFA European Championships wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph with black dial and silver subdials. This 41mm Royal Oak is selling on the secondary market for around $47,000 USD.

What watch does Harry Kane wear?

Harry Kane is an English soccer star for the Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League. Kane is also a captain of the English national team. A striker and prolific goal-scorer, Kane is widely considered to be one of the best in the world.

Kane is a known watch collector with an affinity for Patek Philippe (he also owns Audemars Piguets). Kane owns multiple Patek Philippes in both steel and gold. While he owns a Patek Philippe Split Seconds Chronograph Ref. 5370P, he tends to go for different variations of the Nautilus and Aquanaut. He has been pictured wearing the Aquanaut Ref. 5164R-001. This piece retails for $55,756 USD and is currently selling on the secondary market for over $90,000 USD.

What watch does Kylian Mbappé wear?

Kylian Mbappé Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team. A rising star, at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Mbappé became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup, and became the second teenager, after only Pelé, to score a goal in the World Cup Final.

Mbappé has a well known relationship with Hublot, for whom he serves as an ambassador. Because of this, you will be hard-pressed to find him wearing any other brand on his wrist. Mbappé has been spotted wearing a wide array of Hublots, including the 45mm Hublot Big Bang Unico Red Sapphire (it looks more pink to me). This piece has a transparent skeleton dial, a chronograph flyback movement and a 72-hour power reserve. This piece retails for $88,000 USD.

What watch does Sergio Ramos wear?

Sergio Ramos is a Spanish professional footballer who plays Paris Saint-Germain and the Spain national team. Notably, Ramos notably played for Real Madrid for 16 seasons. Ramos is widely considered one of the greatest defenders in the history of the soccer.

Like many other of the greatest footballers, Ramos has been seen wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus. Specifically, Ramos owns a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1R-001 in 18k rose gold. This piece is selling for between $200,000 and $250,000 USD on the secondary market.