Travis Kelce met French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane at the Miami Grand Prix – and joked afterwards that he was grateful not to be headbutted.
Zidane was infamously sent off from the 2006 World Cup Final vs. Italy when he headbutted Marco Materazzi, reducing France to 10 men and helping Azzurri ultimately win on penalties.
But Kelce – an investor into Alpine’s F1 team – had a much friendlier interaction with Zidane on Sunday.
‘He was cool man, and honestly I was just happy I didn’t get headbutted! It would have been an honor,’ he joked on a new episode of his ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother Jason.
‘I don’t know if you want that, it does some damage,’ Jason replied.
Zinedine Zidane infamously headbutted Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup Final
But he had a much friendlier interaction with Travis Kelce in Miami over the weekend
Travis then said, ‘This is what I do for a living, Jason, I headbutt for a living.’
‘So did he,’ the Eagles great shot back.
Jokes aside, Jason revealed that Zidane was his ‘favorite footballer’ growing up and spoke his admiration for the former Real Madrid midfielder, who is also involved with Alpine as an ambassador.
‘I just loved watching him. He had the ball on a string,’ Jason began.
‘When you’re watching [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo] play, it’s insanely explosive… the thing that I loved about Zidane was that it was all efficient, it was a smooth operation.
Jason then compared the four-time Champions League winner to his brother.
Jason Kelce revealed that Zidane was his ‘favorite footballer’ to watch growing up
‘It reminds me of you, the way you play football. It was like you’re watching him dance while he’s doing all this stuff.’
Travis’ teammate Patrick Mahomes – also an Alpine investor – had the chance to meet Zidane as well.
The racing team picked up a point from the event with Esteban Ocon finishing in 10th place.
