‘Siuuu’ in NFL?! ‘Obsessed’ Louis Rees-Zammit free to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo after leaving rugby ‘bubble’ to chase American football dream

Former Wales rugby international Rees-Zammit, who has also represented the British and Irish Lions, has stepped out of a professional “bubble” in order to go chasing an American dream. The 23-year-old shocked Gloucester supporters when announcing that he would be switching focus to a potential NFL career.

He is part of the NFL’s international player pathway and is hoping to break out Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration in peace at some stage in the near future, having attracted criticism for doing just that at the 2023 Rugby World Cup against Portugal. Rees-Zammit has told BBC Sport: “There is a bubble in rugby, you can’t do certain things, but I am who I am. Like I’m absolutely obsessed with Ronaldo. When I did that celebration, I did it because I love Ronaldo. I didn’t want to offend anyone. You see loads of footballers doing that, but if you do it in rugby, you get slammed. I try not to look at the haters and all the criticism I get. It’s just head down and get on with the job.”

Rees-Zammit is determined to make a success of his second sporting career, adding on his goals for the immediate and long-term future: “In the next five years I want to be a Super Bowl champ. These are very much dreams but I’m desperate for these things to happen. And I want to be an inspiration for anyone coming through the IPP, and any international player that wants to get through to the NFL. Training is completely different. You're using completely different muscles that you wouldn't use in rugby. Even the soreness is different. I'd probably say the most challenging thing is how much you have to learn. The classroom stuff is full-on. I'm loving learning a completely different sport - the rules, the positions, special teams.”

Rees-Zammit is not the first rugby player to try his luck in American football, and he certainly boasts the speed and strength to suggest that he could thrive on the other side of the Atlantic. In the future England international striker Harry Kane may decide to tread a similar path, with the current Bayern Munich striker having hinted at exploring the option of becoming a kicker for an NFL franchise.