One of the most watched sporting events is coming. Over 5 billion fans engaged in the 2022 World Cup in just the finals between Argentina and France alone. But there’s another competition happening off the pitch, one measured not in goals and assists, but in lookbooks and Instagram posts.
Style has always been part of football’s DNA. Beckham redefined what it meant as a stylish sportsman. And today, players are now sitting front row at Paris fashion week and collaborating with luxury brands.
From the streets of Paris to the training grounds of Madrid, from the boutiques of Milan to the beaches of Brazil, we have compiled the definitive list of the 15 soccer players arriving at this year’s tournament with the strongest style credentials. These are the men who understand that how you carry yourself off the pitch matters just as much as what you do on it.
How Are Soccer Players Changing Fashion Heading To The 23rd Edition of the Men’s World Cup?
As the 23rd edition of the FIFA Men’s World Cup approaches, footballers are no longer just athletes, they are influential style figures shaping how millions dress, shop, and define modern masculinity. Today’s stars arrive at tournaments wearing luxury tailoring, statement eyewear, designer luggage, and carefully curated off-pitch looks that often generate as much conversation as their performances on the field.
Players such as Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, and Christian Pulisic have become cultural tastemakers, blurring the line between athlete, celebrity, and fashion ambassador. Their social media presence gives fans unprecedented access to personal style, helping transform football from a sport into a lifestyle ecosystem.
Heading into the World Cup, football’s influence on fashion is becoming even more global. Rather than simply promoting luxury brands, players are driving trends in quiet luxury, tailoring, vintage sportswear, gender-fluid styling, and premium eyewear. National teams themselves have become fashion moments, with arrival fits, campaign shoots, and brand partnerships generating headlines worldwide. As audiences prepare to watch the world’s biggest sporting event, footballers are setting the tone for what people wear both on and off the pitch, proving that the modern World Cup is as much a showcase of personal style and cultural influence as it is a competition for football’s biggest prize.
Best Soccer Players with Style
From the streets of Paris to the training grounds of Madrid, the men who understand that how you carry yourself off the pitch matters just as much as what you do on it.
Lionel Messi
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It’s difficult to start with the footballer who’s considered as the greatest of all time. I mean, how do you write about him without running out of superlatives. In the case of Lionel Messi, the answer is the same on the style pages as it is on the sports pages: you stop trying to find the words and simply observe.
Heading to his sixth and probably final World Cup, Messi will be going in as a defending champion. Unlike most sportsmen who experiment with streetwear, Messi has always stayed classic with almost all of his outfits. He has never been the most flamboyant dresser, even in his younger years. And he has grown into his style the same way he has grown into his global cultural status. For example, he wore a casual, all-black look at the recent Formula One Miami Grand Prix.
At formal events where he collects all eight Ballon d’Ors, an award for the best football player of a year, he always prefers tailored suits. Nothing loud, nothing gratuitous. Just excellent clothes worn by a man who knows exactly who he is.
As for his glasses, they are classic dark-lens frames, a clean, rounded rectangular shape with dark acetate or thin metal construction. There is no logo visible, no statement branding. The choice perfectly mirrors his broader style philosophy: understated, correct, timeless. The kind of frames that will look exactly as good in twenty years as they do today.
Kylian Mbappé
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If there is one player at this World Cup who embodies the intersection of athletic greatness and genuine fashion authority, it is Kylian Mbappé. At just 27 years old, the French striker has already achieved what most players spend entire careers chasing, a World Cup winners’ medal, Champions League glory with Real Madrid, and a personal brand so powerful it rivals the clubs he plays for.
But it is off the pitch where Mbappé has quietly, almost effortlessly, become one of the most stylish figures in world sport. His aesthetic is rooted in French minimalism, a philosophy that says the most powerful statement you can make is a restrained one. Think crisp neutral tones: bone white, putty beige, slate grey. Think clean silhouettes that sit exactly right. Think the right sunglasses, worn correctly, every single time.
Mbappé has been photographed in everything from relaxed windbreakers layered over white tees to perfectly fitted casual trousers, always with a confidence that communicates something rare in celebrity fashion: he is not dressing to impress anyone. He is dressing himself. And that, more than any individual garment, is what makes his style so compelling.
On both occasions, the French footballer is wearing dark rectangular sunglasses with a subtle wraparound shape, sporty enough to feel casual, sleek enough to feel intentional. Dark acetate or lightweight metal, sitting slightly low on the bridge of his nose in the way that Parisians tend to wear their sunglasses: not perched up like a prop, but genuinely worn. No visible branding.
Christian Pulisic
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Christian Pulisic, the hottest face of American soccer, has proven in recent times that his fashion game is always on. The 27-year-old AC Milan player will carry the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders. But before he sets foot on the pitch in front of a home crowd, he has already been quietly assembling one of the most interesting off-pitch style narratives in world football.
There is a particular kind of challenge in being an American footballer in Europe. The culture is different, the fashion expectations are higher, and the scrutiny, especially in cities like Milan, is relentless. Pulisic has not just adapted to that environment. He has thrived in it. His style reflects his surroundings: sharp, considered, and increasingly confident.
His casual wardrobe leans into relaxed but deliberate pieces, a muted beige graphic tee, a gold cross necklace, a backwards green cap worn with the kind of ease that comes from not thinking about it. But it is his ability to shift registers that sets him apart. At a Chelsea match day, he turns up in the stand in a full kit and blue-tinted sunglasses, looking like he has just stepped off a shoot. The American abroad is doing just fine.
Pulisic is also notable for being one of the few players on this list who treats glasses, not just sunglasses, but actual optical frames, as a genuine style tool. That clear-lens moment is not an accident. It is a choice. And it is a great one.
Neymar Jr.
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Neymar Jr. is one of the most culturally significant footballers of the past two decades, a player who, at his peak, was spoken about in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo, and who off the pitch has always operated in a completely different dimension to almost everyone else in the sport.
His style is, like the man himself, simultaneously Brazilian and global. There is the Paris influence, years at PSG left their mark, and the image of Neymar riding the Paris Métro in a black leather jacket, Saint Laurent bag across his chest, thick black acetate glasses on his face, looking like a downtown fashion person rather than the most expensive footballer in history, is one of the great style photographs in recent football memory.
And then there is the Monaco Neymar: all-white overshirt, neck covered in tattoos, gold chains stacked, a black cap pulled low, dark sunglasses on, Grand Prix lanyard swinging. This version is pure maximalist joy, Rio energy translated into the most glamorous postcode on earth. Both versions are authentic. That is what makes Neymar such a compelling figure.
His two eyewear moments present a fascinating duality. The Oakley OO9013, bold, wraparound, unmistakably sporty, captures the Monaco Grand Prix showman. The Ray-Ban RB4226, with its clean rectangular silhouette, echoes the sleeker, more considered side of Neymar: the downtown Paris intellectual with a Saint Laurent crossbody and chunky acetate frames. A man who can move between both worlds without missing a beat.
Jude Bellingham
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Jude Bellingham is the hottest soccer player today and the most complete young player of his generation, and if his off-pitch evolution continues at the rate it has been going, he will soon be one of the most compelling style figures in world sport as well. At 21, he already carries himself with the assurance of a man ten years older, and his wardrobe reflects that same maturity.
His style operates in two distinct modes. The first is relaxed luxury: a dark denim overshirt, luxury sunglasses, that natural physical presence that means even a simple selfie becomes an event. The second is full statement dressing: a textured black crocodile-effect jacket, worn at the Spanish Grand Prix with layered lanyards and dark designer sunglasses, looking like he arrived specifically to be photographed.
What makes Bellingham so interesting as a style figure is that neither mode feels performed. He is not trying on looks to see what fits. He is wearing what he likes, and what he likes happens to be excellent. The crocodile jacket at the F1 is particularly memorable, it is a bold, fashion-literate choice that most 21-year-olds would overthink. Bellingham just wore it.
Real Madrid has a way of transforming players, not just athletically, but culturally. The club exists in a world of extreme visibility, extreme expectation, and extreme glamour. Bellingham has absorbed all of it and made it his own. He is not performing Real Madrid. He is becoming it.
His eyewear reflects that same range. The Nike Mercurial 8.0 R EV0783 brings sport-shield maximalism, futuristic, bold, blurring the line between athletic gear and high fashion. The Prada PS06SS takes it in the opposite direction: thick, dark rectangular designer frames worn with the confidence of someone who knows exactly how much they cost and exactly how good they look.
Enzo Fernández
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Enzo Fernández is 24 years old and already one of the most compelling personalities in world football. The Chelsea and Argentina midfielder burst onto the global scene with a World Cup winners’ medal in 2022 before he had even properly introduced himself to most of the world, and in the years since, he has been building a reputation, both on the pitch and off it, that suggests his best is very much still to come.
His style is the sartorial equivalent of a film noir, dark, deliberate, and dripping with intention. Where other young footballers his age reach for streetwear and hype pieces, Fernández gravitates toward something more cinematic. A perfectly tailored suit, worn with the collar slightly open. Classic aviator sunglasses that belong in a 1970s thriller. Everything positioned just so, with a brooding quality that makes you feel like you have interrupted something important.
He is one to watch, not just at the World Cup, but in the broader cultural space that elite footballers increasingly inhabit.
Fernández’s sunglass moment is one of the most striking on this entire list. He is wearing large, bold silver-framed aviator-style sunglasses with oversized lenses, the kind of frames associated with 1970s film directors and fashion icons rather than midfielders in their mid-twenties. The lenses are dark and wide, the metal bridge prominent, the overall effect unmistakably cinematic.
Vinícius Júnior
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There is a photograph of Vinícius Júnior that captures everything you need to know about where he is right now. He is sitting with his partner in what looks like an open-air terrace, golden afternoon light, a deep brown linen shirt open at the collar, warm amber-tinted sunglasses, the whole image radiating a kind of unhurried, well-earned ease. This is a man who has arrived.
Vinicius Jr. is 25 years old and the best player at Real Madrid, which means he is arguably the best player at the best club in the world. He has been through extraordinary professional challenges, faced racism in Spanish stadiums with more dignity than anyone should have to demonstrate, and emerged from every test as a larger figure than before. His style evolution reflects that same resilience and quiet authority.
His fashion identity has settled into something that suits him perfectly: earth tones, natural fabrics, understated luxury. Browns, creams, warm neutrals, a palette that echoes both the beaches of his native Rio de Janeiro and the sun-soaked streets of Madrid. Nothing gratuitous. Every choice feels considered, personal, genuine.
Vini Jr’s sunglasses are one of the most stylistically considered choices on this list, warm amber or golden-brown tinted lenses in a rounded, slightly vintage-feeling frame, the kind of eyewear associated with warm Mediterranean afternoons, analogue photography, and a certain 1970s leisure aesthetic. The warm tones of his lenses echo the brown linen shirt he is wearing, creating a head-to-toe colour harmony that feels entirely natural.
Rafael Leão
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Rafael Leão is, quietly but unmistakably, becoming one of the most culturally interesting figures in world football. The AC Milan winger carries a personal aesthetic that bridges worlds, the high-fashion sensibility of his adoptive city of Milan, the warmth and boldness of his African-Portuguese roots, and the natural ease of someone who grew up in the orbit of one of the world’s great fashion capitals.
The Gucci monogram jacket photograph is the one that says it all. Most people would look at a green GG-print jacket and hesitate. Leão looked at it and wore it like it was made for him, because in a very real sense, it was. His style has the layered quality of someone who actually reads about what they are wearing, who understands the references and the history.
With his dreadlocks, his easy swagger, and his evident love of bold luxury, he is one of the most visually distinctive players at this tournament. Watch for him on the pitch. Watch for him off it.
Leão’s eyewear choice is arguably the most interesting on this entire list. He wears small, thin oval or semi-rimless frames with reddish-tinted or light-coloured lenses, firmly in fashion eyewear territory rather than sunglasses. This is not sun protection. This is a statement. The delicate frames contrast dramatically with his physical presence and bold Gucci jacket, creating an entirely intentional tension.
Cristiano Ronaldo
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To discuss Cristiano Ronaldo’s style without first acknowledging that his style is inseparable from his brand would be to miss the most important thing about it. CR7 is perhaps the greatest self-marketer in the history of sport, a man who understood, decades before most of his contemporaries, that your image is not separate from your career. It is your career.
What is remarkable is how well-calibrated that communication has been over more than two decades. Early Ronaldo was flash and youth and joy, the pink-haired kid from Madeira who had arrived and wanted everyone to know it. Mid-career Ronaldo refined toward a sleeker, more intentional luxury aesthetic. Late-career Ronaldo has settled into a kind of grandiose classic masculinity: tailored, clean, powerful.
You may love him or loathe him, but you cannot look away from him. And in fashion, attention is the only currency that matters.
Ronaldo’s sunglasses tell a story of duality that mirrors his personality. In the airport tarmac photograph, he wears dark, slim rectangular frames, clean, minimal, authoritative. Classic Ronaldo: everything under control. In the second image, he opts for thick, solid dark frames that are noticeably more fashion-forward. Both choices are correct for their contexts, and both are delivered with the same CR7 intensity. The common thread is quality, always expensive frames, always well-fitted, always worn as if made specifically for him.
Gavi
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Gavi is 21 years old and he already looks like someone who has figured it out. Not in the way of someone who has worked hard to figure it out, in the way of someone for whom it was never a problem to begin with. His style has the natural ease of a young man from Barcelona who grew up surrounded by great architecture, great food, great football, and great fashion, and simply absorbed all of it without trying.
The white crewneck sweater, slightly oversized, worn with wide-leg jeans that break at exactly the right point over clean white trainers, it is a simple outfit, but it is assembled with an instinctive sense of proportion that most people never fully develop. Gavi wears clothes the way he plays football: with economy, precision, and no wasted movement.
He is the future of Spanish football and, perhaps, a preview of what the next generation of footballers will look like off the pitch: less manicured, more genuine, more interesting. Gavi does not style himself for anybody else. He styles himself for himself. At 21, that is remarkable.
Gavi’s sunglasses in the Barcelona street photograph are classic dark rectangular frames, clean, slim, unpretentious. The kind of sunglasses that any stylish young man in any major European city might wear on a Sunday afternoon. There is no obscure designer label being telegraphed here, no fashion-week posturing. Just a good, clean frame that suits his face and works with his outfit. It is a choice that perfectly encapsulates his wider aesthetic: instinctively correct, completely unforced, and effortlessly cool in the way that only genuinely natural style ever is.
Style as the Sixth Sense
Football has always been about more than what happens between the white lines. The greatest players in history were not simply athletes, they were personalities, cultural figures, representatives of something larger than themselves. And how they carried themselves, how they dressed, how they moved through the world off the pitch, was always part of what made them compelling.
Whether it is Mbappé’s Parisian minimalism or Neymar’s joyful maximalism, whether it is Ronaldo’s two decades of image architecture or Gavi’s uncurated youth cool, each player brings a distinct aesthetic identity to the 2026 World Cup. And in every case, the sunglasses tell part of the story. Leão’s delicate fashion frames. Fernández’s cinematic aviators. Vini Jr’s warm amber tints. The eyes, as they say, are the window to the soul, and the frames around them reveal something about the person choosing to wear them.
They will be watched by billions. They will compete for the most coveted prize in sport. And at every press conference, every airport arrival, every sponsor event, and every candid social media moment, they will also be making a statement about who they are. In that sense, the style competition runs parallel to the football one. Everybody is watching. And these players are ready to be seen.
Dress the Part.
Shop the Frames They Wear.
Every pair of sunglasses featured in this article, from Ray-Ban and Prada to Oakley and Nike, is available right now at VisionPros. Canada’s largest online eyewear destination, with over 10,000 frames from the world’s leading brands. Free shipping across Canada. Prescription options available on most styles. Find your World Cup look today.
