Add The New York Post on Google Wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of soccer stars are raking in millions through brand deals and social media fame. WAGs, like Georgina Rodriguez and Antonela Roccuzzo, are leveraging social media for millions in brand deals. American soccer WAGs are largely absent, but US soccer’s growing popularity could change this. This World Cup, the major players aren’t just on the pitch.
The wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of soccer stars are increasingly stars in their own right, making millions with brand deals, sponsorships, and product launches.
“Social media has opened up the possibilities tenfold for this generation of WAGs,” Lindsey Cook, Co-CEO of The Digital Dept, an influencer marketing agency in Los Angeles told The Post. “It used to be that unless you were Victoria Beckham and already famous in your own right, very few WAGs broke beyond their niche community. Now, anyone with a social media presence who’s dating or married to a soccer player and present at matches can draw intrigue and amass a following, and that following can translate into brand partnerships in a way that previous generations didn’t have access to.”Kim Zayotti, founder of Blue Sky Sports and Entertainment, a sports marketing and talent management agency based in Norwell, Massachusetts divides the prominent WAGs into two distinct groups.
“The first are the ones who are musicians, models, that type of thing, and have big names,” she told The Post. “Then you have the second group who were not known before they got married. Even that group now has the ability to translate that opportunity into revenue for themselves.”The first camp includes Tini Stoessel the 29-year-old Disney child actress-turned-pop star with a huge following — 21.5 million Instagram followers — who dates Argentina’s Rodrigo De Paul. She has deals with Under Armour, Pantene and Adidas.
Spanish actress Ester Expósito, 26, also had plenty of her own fans — and 24.1 million Instagram followers — before she was pictured frolicking with French star Kylian Mbappé. Likewise, Mishel Gerzig Courtois, 29, was already a successful international model when she met and married Belgium’s star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
But, a number of WAGs are proof that an independent career as a model, actress or musician isn’t necessary for superstardom.
Georgina Rodriguez, 32, was just a Madrid shop girl when she met Portuguese phenom Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017. The two are now engaged and raising five children together, and Rodriguez has 74 million Instagram followers and an estimated net worth of $10 million, mainly from longtime partnerships with Chopard, L’Oréal, Charlotte Tilbury, and Aroya Cruises. Last year she became the first global brand ambassador for Elisabetta Franchi. This year she is the new face of Calzedonia’s swimwear campaign, plus she has her own streetwear line in the works.
She also had her own Netflix show, “I am Georgina,” that ran from 2022 to 2024 and is entrepreneur with a luxury real estate agency in Madrid.
This spring, she sat front row at Gucci’s show at Milan Fashion Week, a full-circle moment for a girl who was once a sales assistant in a Gucci boutique.
The new WAG playbook plays into the public’s insatiable appetite, fueled by reality television shows like “Real Housewives” and “Summer House,” to know everything about public figures and those adjacent to them.
“People want to learn about their lifestyle, know what they are doing, where they are traveling, what game day looks like, what beauty products they are using, how they raise their kids,” said Zayotti.
Antonela Roccuzzo, the childhood sweetheart-turned-wife of Argentina GOAT Lionel Messi, delivers. On Instagram, the 38-year-old shares adorable family pics of her and Messi with their three young sons along with workout snaps. Such content has helped her build an Instagram following of 39 million and an estimated net worth of $20 million, thanks to brand deals with Adidas, Alo Yoga, Stella McCartney, and Louis Vuitton. In February 2026, she added another major partnership to her portfolio, becoming the global brand ambassador for Anastasia Beverly Hills. “Now, I’m in a position to start doing things for myself,” said Roccuzzo in a recent interview with Elle. “I think it is very important for me to show the kids that you can be a powerful woman and you can have your own life. It’s important to do things for yourself.”
Meanwhile, Bruna Biancardi, 32, the partner of Brazil’s Neymar, for example, has a YouTube channel that spotlights her role as a mom, down to the meals she makes. “Some WAGs are even more active than their husbands online,” said Zayotti. “The curiosity has been satisfied by following the WAGs. They are posting things about decorating their homes, children’s birthdays, travel, or whatever it might be, and so their followings have grown because of that.”
Some of the most notable WAGs in their 20s are still building their followings but already demonstrating their social media savvy.
Natalia Belloli, 27, has amassed 1.7 million followers on Instagram, and modeling gigs for luxury brands, by sharing snaps of her beautiful life with Brazil player Raphinha.
Tolami Benson, the 25-year-old fiancée of England’s Bukayo Saka, has less than 300k Instagram followers, but she’s repped by United Talent, has a L’Oréal Paris ambassador deal and is launching her own collection with River Island.
Sasha Attwood, 30, has been dating England player Jack Grealish since she was 16. Her modeling career has taken off alongside his soccer star. They’ve both done deals with fashion giant Boohoo, and she’s partnered with various brands, such as L’Oreal, on posts.
Cook notes that WAGs are particularly well-suited to influencer jobs. Not only are they typically stunning, they’re highly visible in the stands.
“They are naturally influencing in real life,” said Cook. “They don’t have to generate opportunities to see and be seen. They already have them.”Many WAGs want to be influencers because it’s a job they can do while moving around, when their partners get transferred to a new team or when they are constantly on the road for away games. “They can get so much revenue by promoting and partnering with brands; it gives these women an opportunity to have their own careers,” said Zayotti. “It’s nice to not be completely supported by someone else.”Cook estimates that average WAGs can make anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 per Instagram per Instagram story or post depending on their audience. “When you’re talking about someone with millions of followers the potential to make five-figures for a single piece of content is a good starting point,” she said. Zayotti said WAGs with larger followings probably get five or six figures for a multiple-post partnership that might include special appearances.
But, while European and South American ladies are raking it in, American gals are noticeably absent from the WAG roster.
Ashlyn Castro, the 28-year-old who dates England’s Jude Bellingham, is a California native, but she complained about social media attention — despite having 646,000 followers and highlighting brands like NYX Professional Makeup, Charlotte Tilbury, NARS, and EltaMD on her social media.
“I’m not an influencer making money off of you guys trying to give you a certain perception. I post on Instagram for fun,” she said in 10-minute TikTok last year. “I don’t know why people feel so entitled to know how I support myself and my livelihood when I don’t even share my life on the internet.”
Meanwhile, the women cheering on the US Men are all fairly low key.
Zayotti notes that other professional sports in America, like football and baseball, have notable WAGs, but soccer hasn’t caught up.
The reason she said, is simple. “Soccer is not the the number one sport here.”
But, with the popularity of the game in this country at an exciting turning point — and the men’s team being one of the strongest the US has ever assembled — the moment is ripe for ambitious American gals to step into the spotlight — or at least up their follower count.
Cook said, “It’s an opportune time to capitalize on that increased interest and build up their followings and businesses.”
