Which athletes are Barcelona fans?
Chris Paul is a Barcelona fan on the record, Kobe Bryant was one too, and a third player used to be. In the first two cases the link comes from an outlet's reporting, not from a flat statement by the player in his own words. Jaylen Brown is the one who says the fandom has ended.
Which athlete is the most famous Barcelona fan?
The biggest name is Kobe Bryant, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1978, attended Lower Merion High School, and played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Everything Barca reported on July 1, 2017 that Bryant had said, "I still love AC Milan — though they don't wear my brand of choice — and FC Barcelona." Because that comes through an outlet's report, it is a reported fandom, not one he confirmed himself.
Chris Paul is the other current name. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on May 6, 1985, he grew up in Lewisville and went to West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina. His NBA career ran through the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers (twice), Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
What did Chris Paul say about Barcelona?
The source here is the club's own website. On August 21, 2019, FC Barcelona's club site wrote that Paul "also spoke to the Barça TV cameras, confessing that he and his kids are fans of soccer, and especially the blaugrana." That is the club's description of what he said on camera, so it counts as reported and not as a direct quote from Paul. The passage says he and his kids are fans, but it does not give a date for when the fandom began.
Which athletes used to be Barcelona fans?
Jaylen Brown is the one name in this group. Brown was born in Marietta, Georgia, on October 24, 1996, attended Wheeler High School there, and has played for the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. He told NBC Sports Boston on October 6, 2024: "And Gerard Pique, I grew up as a Barcelona fan before one of my mentors converted me to Arsenal."
By his own account, then, Brown was a Barcelona fan as a child and is not one now. He told NBC Sports Boston in October 2024 that one of his mentors converted him to Arsenal, and nothing in that quote says more about how or when the switch happened. His case is marked as disputed, though no outlet disagreeing with his account is named here.
Do these players have anything else in common?
Not much beyond the club. Bryant, Paul and Brown were born in Philadelphia, Winston-Salem and Marietta, and none of them is tied to Barcelona by birthplace or by a team they played for. Their NBA careers overlap very little in team history, apart from Brown's time with the 76ers, the franchise from Bryant's home city.
Questions people ask
Which athletes are Barcelona fans?
Chris Paul is the current one, reported by an outlet, and Kobe Bryant was reported as a fan too. Jaylen Brown says he grew up a Barcelona fan but no longer is.
Which athletes grew up Barcelona fans?
Jaylen Brown told NBC Sports Boston in October 2024 that he grew up as a Barcelona fan before one of his mentors converted him to Arsenal.
Which athlete is the most famous Barcelona fan?
The biggest name is Kobe Bryant. Everything Barca reported in July 2017 that he said he still loved FC Barcelona alongside AC Milan.
Which athletes used to be Barcelona fans?
Jaylen Brown is the one player who says his Barcelona fandom has ended. He says he switched to Arsenal after a mentor's influence.