Lebron James’ influence in soccer dates to 2011 after buying 2% of Liverpool’s shares of ownership. Since then James has been an active supporter of soccer, with his influence rubbing off on soccer players all over.
Tuesday night James became the NBA all-time points leader after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,390 career points. Bleacher Report pointed out how James broke the points record at the age of 38, with Cristiano Ronaldo also being FIFA’s all-time scoring leader at the age of 38 as well.
Lebron James’ influence in soccer extends beyond his records. During Messi’s time in Barcelona, James took a trip to Barcelona and spent time with the team. He has influenced players in his celebrations and motivation to be the best. Back when Antoine Griezmann played for Barcelona in 2019 he dedicated the chalk toss celebration, James’ most popular pregame ritual, to King James, which got his attention and praised him for it.
Lebron James’ influence in soccer physically is his part ownership with Liverpool. It began in 2011 when he took a trip to Liverpool and watched the team face Manchester United. Since then, he invested two percent in ownership of the club. What inspired James to support Liverpool was the story of homegrown players Kenny and Steven Gerrard.
“Liverpool have won 18 league championships and it meant a lot to read about King Kenny and Steven Gerrard – a hometown kid who now captains the team,” he said according to Marca.
With James breaking the scoring record, it’s rumored that Liverpool will collab with him for a Nike collection of clothes.
When Lebron James is not supporting Liverpool, he is still a football fan. When recently asked who would win the World Cup back in December, James answered “I’m not going to choose. What time is the game? [journalist answered] 7 am is fine, great. That way I can get up and watch it. I just want to watch a great game like the rest of the world, so we’ll see.”
Nevertheless, Lebron James’ influence in sports is huge, especially in soccer with several players dedicating their celebrations to him and using his mentality and motivation in their own sport. He is one of the biggest soccer fans for a non-player and is often compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo due to the many awards and championships won in his career.
