World Cup 2026: Neuer, Kimmich and Co are investing in these startups.

Ahmed Riaz

5 hours ago

They are on the pitch for Germany at the 2026 World Cup and are investing millions in startups. Founder scene shows what the DFB stars do with their money.

Jonathan Tah, David Raum, Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer (from left to right) have all invested in startups or even founded them themselves.

Coffee, protein bars, padel courts and digital accessibility: Germany’s national players are no longer just investing in real estate or stocks. Some build up a considerable startup portfolio parallel to their football career.

Gründerszene has compiled the investments of the current DFB squad. Most of the players have no known involvement. So far, four national players have appeared publicly as startup investors: Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah and David Raum.

Manuel Neuer: The most active startup investor in the DFB team

Hardly any national player invests as broadly as Manuel Neuer. The world champion focuses primarily on consumer products and lifestyle brands.

Alrighty

Soccer world champion Manuel opened for the coffee brand Alrighty Caretrade Coffee Neuer, together with the founding team, opened his first roastery including a coffee shop in Munich in 2024. The founders of the coffee startup are Daniel Rizzotti, Volker Meyer-Lücke and Sebastian Kroth. Neuer is a shareholder in the company, which was founded in 2023.

Manuel Neuer is ahead: The national goalkeeper has already invested in numerous startups.

Happybrush

Manuel Neuer is not just the face of the HappybrushGmbH brand. The DFB national goalkeeper joined the Munich dental care startup as a strategic partner in spring 2026. According to the company, Neuer is also involved in the development of new product and brand concepts.

Health Yeah

Manuel Neuer himself founded the bar startup Health Yeah in 2023. The energy bars should consist of natural ingredients and be gluten and lactose free. Neuer sits on the supervisory board at Health Yeah, and the CEO is former Schalke junior Jan Driessen, with whom Neuer has been friends since his youth.

Deutsche Kosmetikwerke AG

In 2022, Neuer made public that he was also invested in Deutsche Kosmetikwerke AG, which sells skin care products. The footballer also sits on the supervisory board there. Manuel Neuer also advertises skin care products at the cosmetics company.

German Cleaning Works AG

Manuel Neuer also helped found Deutschereinigungwerke AG, a cleaning products company, in 2023 and is now deputy chairman of the company’s supervisory board. This emerges from documents in the commercial register. Neuer joined the DRW through his investment company MN Business GmbH with a total of 120,000 euros, Welt am Sonntag reported.

Bike Race

Since April 2024, Manuel Neuer and his company MN Business GmbH have invested in the bicycle startup Rad Race. The startup organizes cycling events, such as races and tours, but also runs its own bike shops.

VoteBase

In 2021, national goalkeeper Neuer took part in the startup VoteBase, which wants to securely digitize elections. The company was founded by cybersecurity experts Payman Supervizer and Maximilian Pieters. VoteBase is based on blockchain technology.

David Raum focuses on amateur football

Prematch

Prematch is aimed at fans of amateur sports – an attractive gap in the market for the founders Lukas Röhle, Niklas Brackmann and Fiete Grünter from Cologne. On the platform, footballers who play at district or regional level can track their market data, access performance statistics and read news from their league. David Raum invested in the football startup at the end of last year.

David Raum also focuses on football as an investor.

Jonathan Tah invests in health and nutrition

Neoh

Bars are also an investment case for Jonathan Tah: in 2020, Tah invested in the Viennese startup Neoh, which produces protein chocolate bars. The sum is said to have been in the six-figure range. He is also a brand ambassador.

Jonathan Tah has already invested in fitness clothing and food.

Sansirro

The Styrian startup Sansirro records health and movement data directly through clothing. Jonathan Tah, among others, invested in the company in 2022 as part of a Series A financing round.

Tah is also a so-called limited partner at the German VC Robin Capital.

Joshua Kimmich relies on food tech and padel

Precision

FC Bayern Munich footballer Joshua Kimmich invested in the Munich startup Precision in 2025, also known from the TV show The Lions’ Den (DHDL). The startup by serial founders Fabio Labriola, Philipp von Plato and Malte Zeeck relies on a milk alternative that combines milk protein and plant-based ingredients.

Not every investment made by a professional athlete is a success. Joshua Kimmich also shows this: the national soccer player was wrong with one of his investments.

Padel City

Kimmich also joined Padel City: The startup was founded in 2022 by Marcus Englert, Sebastian Weil, Jonathan Sierck and football coach Hansi Flick – and focuses on the trend sport of padel. Padel City rents courts, lends and sells equipment and generates revenue through catering and sponsorship.

Eye Able

The footballer is also on board with the assistance software Eye-Able: The startup, founded in 2020, is committed to accessibility on the internet.

One of Kimmich’s failed investments is the Munich metaverse startup The Football Companywhich filed for bankruptcy in 2023.

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