The greatest quarterback in NFL history is now lending his voice, and star power, to a different kind of football. In an interview on the Men in Blazers podcast, Tom Brady spoke passionately about what it will take for soccer to truly explode in popularity in the United States. His prescription was simple yet bold: find a homegrown superstar of generational talent.
“The youth in America and soccer, we need a young phenom like Lamine Yamal or a young Lionel Messi to take over,” Brady said, envisioning that “there would be the most amazing kind of cultural revolution for soccer here in America.” As Brady sees it, a transcendent player of that caliber could do for U.S. soccer what he himself did for the New England Patriots—lift a team, and perhaps a sport, to new heights of mainstream fame.
Brady offered a candid assessment of why soccer still trails other sports in the U.S. From playgrounds to primetime TV, football, basketball, baseball, and hockey dominate the cultural conversation. “What’s being talked about in the schoolyard ends up often being … American football, basketball, baseball, hockey,” he said. “These other sports just become very dominant because of culturally what’s on television all the time.”
Yet Brady insisted that soccer has “everything it needs” to make an impact in the U.S., except that one missing ingredient: a true superstar. “We love rooting for winners. We love rooting for the best of the best,” he explained. Brady believes the emergence of a once-in-a-generation phenom on U.S. soil would trigger unprecedented excitement: “I believe that there will be the most amazing kind of cultural revolution for soccer here in America.”
Brady didn’t invoke Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal by accident. Messi is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time and made his professional debut at FC Barcelona as a teenager. Yamal, meanwhile, is just 16 years old and already dazzling with fearless performances for Barcelona. Messi and Yamal are barometers of prodigious soccer brilliance, examples of how early genius can shift a sport’s trajectory.
The talent gap beneath the surface
Brady’s comments spotlight a deeper issue: could a Messi-level talent even emerge under the current U.S. system? One major obstacle is America’s pay-to-play model. Unlike soccer-mad countries where clubs identify talent early and subsidize their development, U.S. players—or their families—often must pay substantial fees to join elite academies. This effectively excludes swaths of working-class kids who might otherwise rise to stardom.
Programs like MLS Next are trying to fill the gap, offering more affordable access to top-tier development. But geographic limitations, reliance on the college system, and inconsistent scouting still hamper efforts. Even Christian Pulisic, often called “Captain America,” had to move to Germany at 16 to reach the highest level. Despite his success, the U.S. has yet to produce a truly global superstar in the men’s game.
What gives Brady’s remarks added weight is his unusual cross-sport and transatlantic credibility. Since retiring, Brady has invested in multiple sports ventures, including English club Birmingham City FC, where he serves as chairman of the advisory board. He’s taken an active role there, appearing in docuseries and visiting matches, gaining firsthand insight into how European clubs develop talent.
As a seven-time Super Bowl champion turned soccer investor, Brady’s voice carries a cultural gravity few others can match. When he talks about what’s missing in U.S. soccer, people listen. His message isn’t just about unearthing the next Messi—it’s about creating an ecosystem where that kind of talent can be found and nurtured.
Brady’s comments come at a crucial moment. With the 2026 World Cup set to take place across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, the opportunity to ignite national interest has never been greater. “The World Cup is coming to America in 2026. You can’t imagine the fanfare when that happens. Every stadium will be sold out,” Brady said. But he also implied that unless a breakthrough star captures the imagination of the country, the hype might fade.
A cultural revolution won’t happen on World Cup hype alone. It needs a face. A story. A young talent that every kid in America can look up to and say: that could be me. That’s what Brady is asking for, and what U.S. soccer has to figure out how to deliver.
