What is the ‘Drake Curse’? Rapper bets on Lionel Messi’s Argentina to win World Cup with Liverpool, Anthony Joshua and Conor McGregor among rapper’s ‘victims’ while Tyson Fury immune

Argentina will face France in the 2022 World Cup final but they may have already been put on the back foot.

Drake has bet on them to lift the trophy, leaving Lionel Messi and co hoping they haven't been dealt a cruel jinx heading into the game.

6

In a video posted on social media with a friend, he said: “I’ll take Argentina, he’ll take France. That will be a vibe.”

The four-time Grammy award winner has often been accused of cursing athletes and sports teams he's supported in recent years.

And such is players and fans tendency to get fixated on superstitions they believe will influence the outcome of games, that the 'Drake Curse' has taken on a life of its own...

Most read in Football

Tottenham Hotspur in major blow as club fear key man is set for lengthy spell on sidelines

Harry Kane leads boozy Bundesliga celebrations as he sings iconic song for first time

Cole Palmer apologises over X-rated interview after ending Liverpool's seven-year record

Leeds chairman confirms future of boss Daniel Farke - 24 hours after Championship glory

6

What is the Drake Curse?

The ‘Drake curse’ has become one of the Internet's biggest memes due to the downfall of sporting stars and teams after they have interacted with the Canadian rapper.

Put simply, if Drake wears a team's shirt, poses for a photo alongside an athlete or has publicly voiced his support for any particular team or person, that team or person will go on to lose - even against the odds!

Roma even joked on social media in 2019 that they had banned all of their players from having their pictures taken with the pop star.

6

Which athletes/ teams have fallen victim to the Drake Curse?

Anthony Joshua jokingly said he was a victim of the ‘curse’ after his American debut was marred by Jarrell Miller’s failed drug tests.

Little did AJ know that Miller's replacement Andy Ruiz Jr. ended up handing him his first professional defeat...

Sergio Aguero missed a penalty in a Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham after being snapped alongside the superstar.

Jadon Sancho was unable to help former club Borussia Dortmund in ‘Der Klassiker’ as Bayern Munich thrashed them 5-0 in 2019.

Five years earlier, Drake posed for a picture with Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge in a season that saw the Reds famously collapse in the race for the Premier League title.

The ‘curse’ actually originated in basketball, before spreading into tennis, boxing, MMA and football.

Drake himself even attempted to affect the superstition, once wearing Philadelphia 76ers shorts when they lost to his basketball team, Toronto Raptors.

When his hometown side beat Orlando Magic in the 2019 NBA playoffs, Drake was reported to have told the waiting media afterwards: "You want me to talk about the curse, or you guys good?"

6

6

Has the Drake curse been lifted?

The trend has seemingly quietened down since it's 2019 peak, with Drake also rubbing shoulders with a number of successful stars.

In October 2021, Drake was snapped standing next to compatriot Alphonso Davies days before Bayern Munich thumped Bayer Leverkusen 5-1.

That same month, Tyson Fury knocked out Deontay Wilder in their Las Vegas trilogy fight after he had been supported by Drake online.

And the Gypsy King later made light of the supposed bad omen on his Instagram stories, captioning a post: "Curse? No such thing pal."

6