Business of Esports – Once soccer rivals who now own eSports teams: Carlos Casemiro and Gerard Pique


Major soccer players commonly invest in industries outside the sport, including the gaming sector. Competitiveness in video games has reached new heights in the last decade, so developing a successful eSports team is now an attractive side endeavor.

Some players have made strides in the industry while still plying their trade on the football pitch, while others kickstarted their eSports teams following retirement. 

Here we will look at two players who own eSports teams, as well as the games that their teams fight for awards in. 

Carlos Casemiro

Manchester United’s Carlos Casemiro has suffered the disappointment of missing out on Brazil’s Copa America squad although the continued success of his off-field endeavors in the gaming industry could provide a needed distraction. 

His nation is one of the favorites at +225 in the betting odds from Paddy Power but he will not play a part in any potential success in the United States. The site’s bet calculator can be used to understand the odds on South America’s greatest competition in any format this summer. 

Casemiro’s Case eSports team should provide him with a sense of sporting representation over the soccer off-season, as he deals with missing out on a Brazil tournament squad for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 

The Manchester United star launched Case eSports when he was at Real Madrid in 2020. The team competes in competitions across many major video game titles including CS: GO, Valorant, and EA Sports FC.

Case eSports has gone on to establish itself as a regular top 100 world-ranked team in Valorant and has accumulated sponsorships with brands such as Pringles and Fierce PC. 

The success of the initial team has led to the creation of similarly branded teams also owned by Casemiro such as Case eSports CS2 who are one of Brazil’s leading CS: GO teams. 

The legendary midfielder who has won 25 trophies during his career has without doubt made a massive success of his venture into electronic sports too. 

Gerard Pique

Gerard Pique and Casemiro were once rivals in one of the biggest soccer games on the planet – The El Clasico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – and now they both own eSports organizations that have teams compete in some of the same video games. 

Pique founded KOI in 2021 and initially launched a League of Legends team, but has added Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, and Rocket League teams since. 

Pique’s team is ranked 24th in the Valorant Champions Tour – which is the highest level of competition in the world – and is similarly competitive in the biggest worldwide competitions in its other games too. 

Ultimately, this pair of soccer stars has impacted the eSports industry on contrasting levels. Casemiro has created a well-respected team that competes strongly at various regional levels in Spain and Brazil. Pique though has helped to establish several teams that are amongst the greatest on the planet.