If Rihanna played soccer: goalkeeper, rated 86

Rihanna as a soccer player: scouting report

Rihanna would play in goal, and she would make it look like the calmest job on the pitch. Plenty of keepers can stop shots. Fewer can handle a moment as big as the Super Bowl halftime show she headlined in 2023, performing on stages suspended high above the field, without a flicker of nerves. That composure is what a goalkeeper needs when a striker is bearing down one on one, and her goalkeeping is the best part of her card.

What makes her unusual is what she does with the ball afterward. Her dribbling is right behind her shot stopping, so she can take a touch past a pressing forward, roll it to a fullback and restart the attack. Think of the modern sweeper keeper who plays twenty yards off the line. She grew up in Barbados before becoming one of the best selling artists of her era, and she later built Fenty Beauty into a major company, which shows the same habit of seeing a gap and moving into it first. Her pace and distribution back that up, and her defending is good enough that she reads through balls early.

Physical strength is where her card dips. In a crowded six yard box on a corner, bigger forwards will test her, so pair her with a tall, aggressive center back who wins headers. Her next best spot is fullback, where her speed and footwork play nicely, and central midfield is not far behind. For a drafter, she is a keeper who also helps you build out from the back. Take her early if your team likes to keep the ball.

Plays like A cool, quick sweeper keeper who loves the ball at her feet

Put Rihanna in your lineup

11 rolls, a starting eleven, 38 matches. Can you go 38-0? Free, no account.