Photo-Illustration: By The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
The 2026 World Cup kicks off in stadiums across North America this week, exactly 20 years after the tournament brought us one of pop culture’s greatest gifts: WAGs. In 2006, the tabloids obsessively followed the wives and girlfriends of British players, including Victoria Beckham and Cheryl. Today, WAGs are a global phenomenon – almost all top footballers have partners who appear on the covers of magazines or star in their own Netflix reality shows.
So, who should you keep an eye on in the stands this month? Here are some of the most popular WAGs on the football circuit at the moment.
➼ Marriage with: Lionel Messi, Argentina
➼ Instagram Followers: 39 million
Messi, 38, is arguably the top soccer player in the world at the moment and the Argentina national team is the defending champion at this year’s World Cup. Thus, Roccuzzo, 38, is also probably the most famous WAG in 2026 — she has nearly 40 million followers on Instagram and has brand deals with Adidas, Stanley, and Tiffany. Messi and Roccuzzo are childhood friends and married in 2017 in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina, in what the tabloid dubbed the “wedding of the century.” They have three sons and currently live in Miami, where Messi plays for Inter Miami CF in MLS.
But if you’re not cheering for Team Argentina, be warned: Roccuzzo doesn’t hesitate to defend her husband online — she recently responded directly to a doctor who claimed on Instagram that Messi had multiple plastic surgeries. “You didn’t get a single thing right!” she commented in Spanish. “She’s never had surgery hahaha, and the thing with the teeth is called Invisalign.” I believe in him!
➼ Dating: Kylian Mbappé, France
➼ Instagram Followers: 24 million
Expósito, 27, is a Spanish actress from the Netflix drama Aristocrat class. She has, most recently, also been dating 27-year-old Mbappe, who is the captain of the French national team and one of the top players in the world. The two were first photographed together during Paris Fashion Week in March, and have since been spotted on two separate holidays – one in Sardinia and one in Ibiza.
Mbappé is currently in France preparing for the games with his team, but Expósito was spotted dancing on stage with Bad Bunny at his concert in Madrid this week. Looks like he has a good life.
➼ Started doing: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
➼ Instagram Followers: 72 million
according to forbesRonaldo, 41, has just officially become a billionaire. Unfortunately, Rodriguez, 32, isn’t officially married yet: The couple got engaged last year and have been dating since 2017. In Rodriguez’s Netflix reality show, I am Georginawhich aired last year, Ronaldo assured Rodriguez that “when we get that click they’ll get married.” The engagement ring is, at least, as big as a door knocker.
Ronaldo and Rodriguez are the parents of five children together and currently reside in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Ronaldo plays for the Al-Nassr team (some have speculated that the couple got engaged to better fit in with the kingdom’s strict social rules regarding marriage). In her free time, Rodriguez is apparently launching a clothing line called Mimoa.
➼ Marriage with: Riyad Mahrez, Algeria
➼ Instagram Followers: 3 million
When Ward, 28, met Mahrez, 35, in 2021, she was already well known in the world of British football: her father, Ashley Ward, is a former Manchester City player, and her mother, Dawn Ward, is a former Real Housewife of Cheshire. Mahrez will play for the Algerian national team in the World Cup, although Ward and Mahrez currently live in Saudi Arabia where Mahrez plays for the Al-Ahly team.
Ward and Mahrez married in Lake Como in 2024 and have two children. She regularly posts ads for brands like Aloe and GHD Hair Tools, and even has a separate Instagram account dedicated to the couple’s heavily marbled home.
➼ Dating: neymar, brazil
➼ Instagram Followers: 15 million
Neymar, 34, is trying to make a comeback at this year’s World Cup, but he may miss the first game as he is currently recovering from a calf injury. However, her on-again, off-again teammate, Biancardi, is her No. 1 supporter: the 32-year-old Brazilian model and influencer posted a lengthy letter to her on Instagram when she was named in her World Cup squad last month.
“I have seen you emerge from disappointments, attacks, jokes, sensationalist headlines,” he wrote in Portuguese. “But, you never gave up on yourself, and neither did we.”
Neymar and Biancardi have been dating since 2022 and have publicly broken up and gotten back together several times. They have two daughters, Mavis and Mel, who regularly appear on Biancardi’s Instagram account, where she also posts cooking and lifestyle content.
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