Caught on the Line: Football’s New Wave of Anglers | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo’s relationship with fishing goes all the way back to his childhood in Madeira – a place where the ocean is as much a playground as any dusty street football pitch. Growing up on the Portuguese island, the future Champions League record-breaker genuinely believed he’d spend his life on the water.

Reflecting on his achievements in 2020 while at Juventus, he said, “I thought I was going to be a fisherman in Madeira. This never came into my mind. I wanted to be a professional footballer, but I didn’t think I was going to win everything I’ve won.” Madeira, after all, is the capital of sport fishing, where chasing marlin, wahoo and giant bluefin tuna is part of the rhythm of island life.

That early connection to the sea never left him. During a 2012 trip to Thailand, Ronaldo spent four days out on the water in Phang Nga, reveling in the simple joy of rod, reel, and warm ocean air. “I’m an angler,” he said proudly, recalling how he felt every bite on the hook before taking his catch back to eat for lunch and dinner.

He called the region “the most beautiful place I’ve ever been,” and even between filming commercials and helicopter trips, it was the fishing that lit him up. It’s a reminder that beneath the trophies, fame and global spotlight, Ronaldo still finds peace in the same pastime he once thought might define his whole life.

Angling Fever Sweeps Through the Football World

Ronaldo is far from the only footballer who finds calm – and the occasional adrenaline rush – on the water. Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz even turned his passion into a goal celebration, pretending to cast a rod and reel in a catch after scoring against West Ham in 2023.

Elsewhere, Sergio Agüero took up angling during an injury layoff and still heads out on trips in Argentina, while David Beckham proudly showed off an Icelandic salmon in 2016. Even Memphis Depay and Zlatan Ibrahimović grew up loving the sport, proving that fishing culture runs deep in football.

More broadly, there’s a growing appetite for angling. Indeed, fishing’s rising popularity isn’t limited to footballers; it’s becoming a cultural force in its own right. The industry in the UK, for instance, has an impressive value of more than £3 billion a year.

That surge is mirrored across entertainment, too. TV series Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing continues to draw millions with its warm blend of humour, friendship, and riverbank wisdom. Meanwhile, in iGaming, titles like Big Bass Splash and Big Bass Bonanza have become popular bonus bingo games online. It’s no coincidence that the fishing theme has been paired with special offers like 200 free spins.

Elsewhere, canals in London, Birmingham and Manchester now host bustling communities of “street anglers,” fueled by YouTubers like Birmingham’s Snagged Bro, whose videos get hundreds of thousands of views. And virtual reality titles like Real VR Fishing for Meta Quest are also rising up the charts.

Ronaldo’s Calm Beyond Football’s Spotlight

In the end, no matter how huge global fishing’s resurgence becomes, its heart remains in the simple joy that first drew Ronaldo to the water. From Madeira to Thailand, the world’s most celebrated goalscorer still finds his calm with a rod in hand. As football embraces angling’s growing appeal, Ronaldo stands as its most fitting symbol — a legend forever grounded by the sea.