Admiring multiple sports is normal. Even playing more than one is pretty common. But being elite at one sport while it was never your first love? That’s rare territory. The Cincinnati Bengals legend Chad Johnson fits right into that category. He’s widely regarded as one of the greatest route runners in NFL history. Still, football was never his first love. And he’s been open about that.

“I’m a better soccer player than receiver,” Johnson posted on X, while re-sharing a post originally shared by MLFootball, claiming that Johnson was one of the greatest route-runners of all time in NFL history.

Johnson’s connection to soccer goes back to his childhood. He started playing the sport at the age of four, and for a long time, it was the path he wanted to follow. The turning point came in high school. With soccer and football seasons overlapping, he had to make a choice. It was not about passion. It was about opportunity.

“Soccer was always my first sport. That was my first love. Started from four years old and once I got to high school, I had to make a decision on what I wanted to focus on and take me to the next level.”

From there, the rest is history. After his time at Santa Monica and Oregon State, the Bengals selected Johnson in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft with the 36th overall pick. Over an 11-year career, he built a reputation as one of the best receivers in the league, and the production backed it up.

For a broader context, he spent 10 seasons in Cincinnati and one in New England. In that span, he recorded 766 receptions for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns.

By the time he stepped away, he had already been named a three-time First-team All-Pro, earned six Pro Bowl selections, and led the league in receiving yards in 2006. But even with that résumé, soccer never really left him.

In fact, even during his NFL career, he stayed closely connected to the sport and followed European football regularly. His circle reflected that as well, as he once noted:

“I know a couple of guys. Ronaldinho is one of them. Thierry Henry is good friend of mine. Cristiano Ronaldo, I talk to him all the time on Twitter. We DM back and forth. Ashley Cole is a good friend of mine. I used to go watch Thiery Henry play at Arsenal every off-season.”

Then came 2011, even before he officially retired from football, when he decided to take that passion a step further. After finishing the 2010 season with the Bengals, amid major tension with the franchise, Johnson made a serious attempt to pursue soccer at a professional level for the first time as an adult.

A look at Chad Johnson’s soccer career

Back in 2011, Johnson took his first real shot at soccer as an adult. On March 16, he announced a four-day trial with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer.

The trial began on March 23, and by March 25, he was already asked to feature in a reserve game. But within days, that opportunity stalled. He was not offered a contract, though the club did invite him to continue training with the reserve side to stay in shape.

Years later, he circled back to that dream. In 2018, Johnson returned to soccer and signed with Boca Raton FC, then part of the National Premier Soccer League, after a period of training.

He made his debut as a forward in a 1–0 win over Himmarshee FC. Not long after, on October 20, 2018, he scored his first goal, converting a penalty in a 2–0 win over FC Boca Predators. A year later, he re-signed with Boca Raton FC for the 2019 Spring UPSL season after the club moved to the United Premier Soccer League. And for Johnson, this was never just a side project.

“I’m really excited to join the team and contribute in any way possible,” he said. “For me, this is more than just an opportunity but a dream come true that I was never able to fulfill during my childhood.”

That intent showed on the field. On May 24, 2019, he scored both goals in a 2–1 regular-season win over the Palm Beach Breakers, helping Boca Raton FC eventually win the South Florida Championship of the UPSL.

In a way, it all comes full circle. Johnson’s sports journey began with soccer at the age of four. Football made him a star, especially with the Bengals. But when it was all said and done, he still found his way back to the sport he loved first.

And even now, he has never hesitated to say it out loud. In his eyes, he was always a better soccer player than a receiver, no matter how great his NFL career turned out to be.