Argentina’s dramatic semi-final victory has done little to dampen the chatter around Lionel Messi’s side, but a fresh superstition-related concern has now emerged after Drake revealed he has backed them to win the World Cup final.
The timing has only added to the noise. Argentina are chasing back-to-back World Cup titles after lifting the trophy in 2022, while Spain arrive in the final as a formidable opponent and, in the eyes of many bookmakers, a slight favourite heading into Sunday’s showdown at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
That matters because of the long-running joke among sports fans that whenever Drake puts money behind a team or athlete, things tend to go badly. The superstition has become widely known as ‘The Drake Curse’, and plenty of supporters take it very seriously.
The Marvin’s Room singer knows all about the reputation and has addressed it before. Speaking in an interview with a betting online casino and sport betting company, he said:
“The Drake curse is funny to me, honestly. First of all, the Raptors won a championship, so nobody could ever talk to me about the Drake Curse.”
Even so, that hasn’t stopped him from making another massive wager. On Friday, the 39-year-old shared a betting slip to Instagram showing he had staked an eye-watering $1.5 million on Argentina to beat Spain in Sunday’s final.
Reports around the bet suggest it was placed through Drake’s long-running partnership with Stake, the crypto betting platform he has frequently promoted online. The reported payout would land at around $5.1 million if Argentina win in 90 minutes plus stoppage time, though the exact figure depends on the market and currency used.
Of course, for Drake, that may hardly register as a life-changing sum.
Alongside the post, he wrote:
“What’s that saying??? Better luck next time…say less.”
Plenty of fans quickly piled into the comments, with some now convinced Spain could benefit from Drake’s betting history.
One person wrote:
“Thank god Argentina might actually lose because of this,”
Another added:
“looks like messi isn’t going 2 for 2.”
A third commented:
“Lmao betting my whole life on Spain now,”
This isn’t the first time Drake has put money on Argentina in a World Cup final. He also backed them to beat France in 2022, and while Argentina did ultimately lift the trophy, his bet still failed because his selection required them to win inside normal time. Their triumph came after extra time instead.
Argentina’s recent run has also kept the superstition conversation alive for different reasons. The team has already shaken off plenty of pressure during this tournament, and even Argentina’s own president, Javier Milei, has leaned into the idea of avoiding bad luck, saying he would not attend the final because of superstition.
Now the big question is whether the so-called curse will show up again or finally be put to rest.
Football isn’t the only sport where Drake’s bets have attracted attention either, as a number of teams and athletes have found themselves linked to his supposed streak of bad luck.
And that is only a fraction of the examples people bring up.