Whether it's boxers, boxer briefs or any other kind of underwear for that matter - the undergarments of a sports star often garners more attention than that of their sporting ability... as well as what's inside them, naturally. Whether they're posting for professional shoots or lucky paparazzi on the sidelines. Although their choice of sporting profession may differ; stars of football, rugby and other sports all share one desirable trait... they look REALLY good in a pair of underwear.
So for your enjoyment (and ours) we have compiled a list of the 8 times that sports stars underwear got us talking, whether that be due to a professional shoot, scandal or anything in the space between the two. Make sure you're sitting comfortably because we're about to bombard you with sports stars in their favourite boxers, briefs and jocks. Yippee!
David Beckham
I mean, who else could this last have started with? The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan adonis has managed to launch a second career by posing seductively in boxer briefs. Let's be serious this man is probably now more well known for his dashing good lucks and southern charm than his amazing football abilities so it came as no surprise that fashion powerhouses where starving after an underwear shoot from him in the latter years of his sports career. In 2009 Emporio Armani finally got their claws on an underwear campaign with the at-the-time Milan star and unveiled the long awaited pictures on the streets of London at the Oxford Street Selfridges flagship.
The campaign was and undeniable and frankly unsurprising success so this was far from the end for the London boy wonder. Beckham then went on to have a successful 5 year collab with H&M which sold so well the only natural next move was to have his own line.
It is now estimated that over 90% of David Beckham's earnings now come from his commercial endorsements, making him the highest paid footballer in the world - a refreshing stat in the modern era of ridiculous wages in the sport! Capitalising on his washboard abs, cheeky smile and clear sharp business acumen he's been able to crave out a nice little business for himself which no one has any complaints about!
Freddie Ljungberg
This Swede was known for his well groomed looks, sculptured build and piercing blue eyes when he was part of that infamous "unbeatables" Arsenal squad in the early 2000's. Having caught everyone eyes during the record breaking Premier League campaign he was soon selected by Calvin Klein propelling the brands notoriety in both the UK and Swedish market respectively. Freddie
and his impressive package adorned the billboards of towns across the UK, with his sexy grin and Adonis body do a lot of the heavy lifting for Calvin Klein’s popularity. Freddie’s boxers-wearing became such an international phenomenon that many people in the US (who don’t know about British football) assumed he was a full-time Calvin Klein model, unaware of his footy skills. After posing for a bunch of ads, both solo and with female models.
Although the Swede had an extremely successful career for country and club, a career that took him all over the world winning trophies from England to the USA and finished his playing in India. He now manages the Swedish national team at u23 level.
Di Nazionale - Italian National Team
The Italian national football team caught many people’s attention back in 2006 when they starred in Dolce and Gabbana ads wearing nothing but their boxer shorts. Covered in baby oil while posing seductively in a locker room, seemingly after playing a sweaty and homoerotic game of football, Italian football stars Fabio Cannavaro, Gennaro Gattuso, and Andrea Pirlo posed for the now infamous photos. Is there a sexier man in football than Andrea Pirlo? Not only we were blessed with some of the sleekest football the game has ever seen but looking like that at the same time is unbelievably unfair. Just when you think this campaign couldn't get better we get Italy's favourite bad boy stripped to his boxers, known for his explosive and aggressive playing style Gennaro Gattuso shows off his bulky frame with pride - Forza Italia!
It turns out that putting the Italian national football team in nothing but their boxers and plastering them on every billboard they could find was a good strategy for D&G, who did very well off the back of the ad. Since then, similar football thirst-trap ads have been appearing around the time of the Euros and the World Cups, yet none can compare to the original.
Nicklas Bendnter
A bit more of a controversial one... which is no surprise if you are familiar with Danish striker Nicklas "Lord" Bendtner. Anyone who is familiar with football knows what a character the Dane is, examples of his wild escapades include: claiming he is the greatest striker in the world, missing all kinds of easy chances and the infamous drunk taxi that resulted in Bendtner in the streets in his underwear.
The Dane took his erratic behaviour to the pitch when he advertised “Paddy Power”, the Irish betting company, while playing at Euro 2012.
How? He wore boxer shorts with “Paddy Power” written in massive letters across the waistband, lifting his top up during play to reveal the ad written beneath his well-chiselled abs. Sadly, this kind of in-game marketing is against the UEFA rules, and he was fined heavily for advertising during play. Nonetheless, Paddy Power paid his fee and then some, getting a bunch of free publicity from good ol’ Nicklas. If there’s one place to advertise your company, it’s on the boxer briefs of a hunky footballer during play!
Nicklas Bendtner was never a particularly bad player but due to his off field antics and how highly he seemingly regarded himself he became far more well known as a meme than he ever was for being football player. Mix this in with the fact he is married to a Danish baroness the ironic "Lord Bendtner" title was given by sports fans online.
Cristiano Ronaldo
After Becks left Armani to start his own underwear line, Armani was scrambling for sports stars they could get to fill in his shoes. Just like he followed in Becks footstep for the coveted number 7 Manchester United Strip Luckily, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up like he was about to bang in one his signature free-kicks. Ronaldo who is known for his dramatic personality, his love of posing and well, himself was perfect to fill Becks' boots. Ronaldos vanity is no secret, with an old opponent Bruno Fernandes once famously said that when playing against CR7 he could not stop watching himself on the big screen inside the stadium, not something we can blame him for though. So when Armani came knocking we're sure Cristiano Ronaldo leaped at the opportunity like a ball in the box.
Sporting skimpy boxer briefs, Cristiano’s Armani photoshoot was a little bit more effeminate than David’s… causing a little bit of ridicule for the supposedly “camp” poses, adding to the constant gay rumours that surround Ronaldo. Nonetheless, he looked scrumptious in his skimpy undies, and Armani did well off the back of it.
Floyd Mayweather
Again, someone who has never shied away from a bit of controversy, in fact Floyd Mayweather revels in it. Whether this be his ongoing feud with rapper 50 cent, calling out his exes and recently refusing to boycott Gucci after questionable designs.
Back in 2017, Paddy Power decided to capitalise on their boxer shorts advertising gimmick once again, but this time with US boxing star Floyd Mayweather, who was receiving a lot of press attention at the time due to his infamous fight with Conor McGregor. Surprisingly, Paddy Power didn’t endorse their fellow Irishman, going with the American instead. Featuring the infamous “Paddy Power” waistband first sported by Nicklas, the boxer shorts were adorned with the words “always bet on black”, a play on words due to Mayweather’s African-American ethnicity. Paddy Power eventually ended up getting caught up in a lot of controversy for the stunt, but we’re sure they were laughing all the way to the bank!
Rafael Nadal
When you think of sports stars who look good in their boxer shorts, your mind
probably turns to football, rugby, and sports which seemed more traditionally
aggressive and masculine. However, Rafael Nadal proved that tennis players can
turn heads too when he posed in saucy boxers for Armani a few years back.
The Spanish tennis player replaced Cristiano Ronaldo as the face (i.e. crotch) of
Emporio Armani, and let’s just say that we’re okay with it. Although a couple of his poses seem a bit… awkward, the sexy Spaniard’s boxer briefs got more than a few fashion fans hot under the collar when this promotional campaign was launched in 2011.
Ben Cohen
Known as somewhat of a gay icon, at least back in his day, Ben Cohen is a former England rugby player who was no stranger to getting his kit off once upon a time.
Back in 2001, Cohen posed for underwear company Sloggi, a brand which designs boxer briefs and underwear designed to be comfortable and easy to move around in. Sporting his Sloggi boxer shorts, his rugby ball, that stocky build, and bear-esque chest hair, Cohen sure helped to boost Sloggi’s popularity alongside some of his
fellow rugby sports stars. Still, none of them compare to Ben and his impressive
package!
