Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco Johnson spent more than a decade terrorizing NFL secondaries, earning six Pro Bowl nods, and entered Cincy’s Ring of Honor. But ask him about football’s place in the sporting universe, and he’ll set you straight with a shocking answer.

“Soccer is the greatest sport of all time,” Johnson declared on The Late Run podcast’s first episode.

Those words hit differently coming from a man who wore #85 so devoutly that he legally changed his name to “Ochocinco” (Spanish for eight-five) after the NFL fined him $30,000 for wearing the nickname on his jersey. But his love for soccer runs just as deep, stretching all the way back to 1984.

Growing up in Liberty City, Miami, Johnson discovered soccer the way great stories begin: through family. He sat beside his grandfather, watching a black-and-white TV, when one name kept echoing through the room: Maradona.

“I sat down with my grandfather and had no idea what was going on, but I kept hearing the name ‘Maradona’ over and over,” Johnson said in a recent interview. “It was 1984, I remember telling my grandfather, ‘Papa, I want to play this.’”

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“But where I was, there was no soccer,” Johnson continued. “I didn’t have the access or resources to be able to play. My way out of my circumstance as a child was [American] football. I wasn’t gonna be a goddamn academic scholar. I didn’t make the damn dean’s list. But my love for the beautiful game is still there.”

Chad Johnson even went through a four-day trial with Sporting Kansas City back in 2011, and played for Boca Raton FC between 2018 and 2019. He’s also set to leave his mark on Villarreal CF as a guest player this summer. All his life, he has been chasing what Liberty City once denied him.

But the NFL hasn’t fully disappeared either. Johnson has also hinted at coming out of retirement multiple times; most recently on February 21, when he took to X to drop a “I’m coming out of retirement @Bengals.” Even that single line was enough to briefly ignite the Who Dey Nation.

Whether Chad Johnson returns to the NFL or continues to make soccer appearances, he’s still making big waves. And the biggest stage he’s chasing right now isn’t a football field.

Chad Johnson’s new spotlight

Football might not deliver the ultimate thrill, but Johnson’s new project is already generating real excitement: The Late Run with Ochocinco.

The show launched on February 26, with comedian Bert Kreischer as the debut guest. The weekly podcast is a collaboration between soccer media company Footballco and Johnson’s newly-launched OchoCinco Productions, co-hosted by Raheem Taylor-Parkes and sponsored by DraftKings. 

“I always had a dream of starting my own production company,” Johnson said. “I thought about what would be the best way to bridge the gap and get people interested in ‘the beautiful game.’”

 Johnson sits down with celebrities and soccer legends, with the future guest list including USWNT star Midge Purce, rapper Rick Ross, and icons Rio Ferdinand and Gerard Piqué. That’s a lineup that signals this isn’t just your typical vanity project. It’s something that brings Johnson back to his roots.

“Soccer was my first love,” Johnson said, per Footballco. “During the NFL seasons, I would go across the pond to watch guys like Ronaldo and Messi play. What we’re seeing in the U.S. now is a perfect storm that will help solidify soccer fandom in America.”

“I played in Super Bowl XLVI,” Johnson continued. “But what’s coming in June and July will be like 100 Super Bowls, and it’s going to take this fandom even further.”

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup landing in America from June 9 all the way to July 19, the timing couldn’t be sharper. For the kid from Liberty City who never got a soccer ball, this feels less like a career move and more like a promise finally kept.