The Drake curse continued on Sunday when Barcelona, donning their home kit customised with the OVO Sound logo, lost away to Real Madrid in the El Clasico.
Drake bet on Barcelona to win El Clasico: Here’s how much he lost
In the build-up to the La Liga fixture, Drake was the talk of Spanish football. To honour his catalogue reaching 50 billion streams on Spotify, the music platform replaced its logo that often sits on the chest of Barca’s home kit with the famous OVO Sound owl.
Fans of the Catalan giants bemoaned the move, claiming the Canadian star carried a curse that rubbed off on any sporting figure or club he associated with.
While this, for the most part, is nothing more than social media trolling, Barca’s poor performance indeed did Drake no favours. Not only did the Certified Lover Boy‘s tribute result in a whimper, but he also placed a CA$833 333 (est. R10.9 million) bet on the Catalans and Arsenal to win.
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It wasn’t an easy outing for the Gunners, but in the end, Mikel Arteta’s men held on to a precious 0-1 victory against Leeds United. On the other hand, Barca fell flat on a 3-1 drabbing to Los Blancos, effectively ending Drake’s hopes of a whopping CA$3.9 million payout (est. R51.3 million).
The origins of the ‘Drake curse’
The four-time Grammy winner has, over the years, become an internet meme for sports banter, largely due to the immediate downfall of athletes and teams he’s supported in the past.
Tracing the origins of the ‘Drake curse’ was no easy feat. However, as reported by The Mirror, the first sighting of the hex came in March 2019 when Drake posed for a picture with former Manchester United footballer Paul Pogba, four days before the club was knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolves.
Less than a month later, Drake surfaced in a picture with Wilfred Zaha. A few days later, Crystal Palace lost 3-1 to Manchester City.
In that same year, Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) Layvin Kurzawa, who, in 2022, is on loan to Fulham FC, posed for a picture with Drizzy, only to see his side suffer a 5-1 drabbing to Lille, the club’s biggest loss in 10 years.
Other athletes who’ve caught the ‘Drake curse’ include:
- Conor McGregor;
- Sergio Aguero;
- Anthony Joshua;
- Alabama college football club;
- Serena WIlliams;
- Golden State Warriors; and among others
- the Kentucky Wildcats.
