The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in full swing. A billion people follow tactics and formations, but football long ago outgrew pure sport and turned into a vanity fair and a global runway. As soon as players and coaches leave the official kit behind, another set of rules takes over: a contest of status accessories. Stars at Mbappé’s level love expensive watches, and we gathered some of the most iconic football timepieces of all time.
David Beckham. Rolex Yacht-Master
Back in 1998, Beckham launched a global trend for the then-new Rolex Yacht-Master by appearing in matching gold watches at the official engagement photoshoot with Victoria.
Since then, the model has locked in its status as a pop-culture icon.
Diego Maradona. Dual Rolex Daytona
Maradona set the tone for eccentric style long before it went mainstream. His calling card was the habit of wearing chronographs on both wrists at once. The practical explanation, needing to see the time in Argentina and in the country where he was staying, quickly gave way to a nicer legend: that the two watches stood for his daughters.
Most often the great Argentine favored classic steel Rolex Daytonas, an aesthetic that stayed with him in moments of triumph and during long disputes with European tax authorities.
Cristiano Ronaldo. Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon
Ronaldo’s off-pitch style is a manifesto of absolute, unapologetic wealth. His long friendship with jeweler Jacob Arabo naturally led to a one-off piece worth more than a million dollars.
The Bugatti Chiron CR7 Edition echoes elements of the hypercar of the same name: inside a sapphire case sits a miniature working W16 engine mechanism.
Pep Guardiola. Richard Mille RM 61-01 Yohan Blake
Guardiola projects the image of an intellectual who values complex engineering. On the touchline he is almost always accompanied by rare pieces from Richard Mille. The RM 61-01, originally made for professional sprinters, has an asymmetrical case in ultra-strong composites and extreme lightness.
A run of 150 pieces and the status of a discontinued model turned these watches into a collector cult object, with market value long past the million-pound mark.
Harry Kane. Patek Philippe Grand Complication
England’s captain chooses respectable conservatism. His taste has no flashy clutter.
That is confirmed by the choice of a platinum perpetual calendar from Patek Philippe worth about £750,000: the kind of chronometer a person with real taste would pick.
Kylian Mbappé. Hublot Big Bang Unico
Mbappé represents a new generation of football elite, and every move is calculated by marketers. As Hublot’s lead ambassador, the French forward regularly shows off massive gold Big Bang Unico “King Gold” models.
Especially for the current World Cup, the brand prepared a named limited series underscoring Mbappé’s status as the face of the modern football industry.
