29 July 2023 , 19:51
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DeAndre Hopkins confirmed on Saturday that he would wear the No. 10 jersey with the Tennessee Titans in honour of Lionel Messi, his favourite football player and an athlete who has inspired his work ethic.
The wide receiver loves football and has played it since childhood, kicking balls around on grassy fields in Pickens County, South Carolina, long before he found his passion for American football. He has worn No. 10 in each of his 10 NFL seasons after wearing No. 6 in college at Clemson.
Hopkins said he will try to go to a Nashville SC game this year after joining the Titans this past week as a free agent. The MLS side will visit Messi's Inter Miami on August 30, so perhaps Hopkins will make the trip down to Florida to catch that match.
"I'm not the tallest, I'm not the biggest or the fastest," Hopkins said in 2020 when explaining his fondness of Messi. "When you look at me, you might not think I'm the best receiver but my play shows for itself. Messi is obviously considered one of the greatest ever. He's short, you know, not the tallest. I feel like he's got that underdog mentality."
That prove-it mindset is central to Hopkins' identity. It is one of the reasons he signed with Tennessee on a two-year, $26 million contract despite interest from more nationally prominent teams, including the New England Patriots.
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"I've always had something to prove, and that's how I play my game," he said. "The decision to come to Nashville, obviously, made a lot of people mad. But I kind of felt at home being here from the get-go, from early on. Tennessee is a team not many people put on their list, and I think I am not just speaking for myself, but the team as well, people are writing us off."
Hopkins, who previously starred for the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, has said he hopes to join an MLS ownership group one day. He's pals with NBA star James Harden, a part-owner of the Houston Dynamo.
DeAndre Hopkins has joined the Tennessee Titans (Michael Owens/Getty Images)"James is a friend of mine, so of course I've talked to him about it," Hopkins told MLSsoccer.com. "That's big in the sports world, for athletes to also be owners of a team. That made noise as soon as it happened. Hopefully down the line somewhere [I'll do it]. But right now, I'm just focusing on my job."
Even though Hopkins has made his living with his hands, his days spent on the football pitch remain treasured memories. "I would go over to [my friends'] house and I would go play pick-up soccer with them," Hopkins said. "I played goalkeeper. Of course, they never scored on me."
"It was different for someone like myself to have a passion for soccer. My mom knew I had a passion and my whole family did, but we couldn't afford to play the game. My mom couldn't afford to drop me off and go pick up my brothers and sisters. What was free (to play) was football, basketball and baseball."