Raphinha on His Calvin Klein Shoot: “I felt more pressure than in a stadium”
Raphinha is used to playing in front of the world’s biggest football stage. But stepping in front of a camera for a global fashion campaign brought a very different kind of pressure. In a new Calvin Klein shoot and interview with GQ, the Brazilian winger explains why the experience felt completely unfamiliar.
Raphinha’s New Calvin Klein Campaign
Three months into 2026, and Raphael Dias Belloli, also known as Raphinha, is enjoying one of the strongest periods of his career. Barcelona sit at the top of La Liga, and the Brazilian winger has become a key figure in the team’s attack with his speed, creativity and relentless work rate on the left flank. At the same time, the 29-year-old has started appearing more frequently beyond football. His latest project places him at the center of Calvin Klein’s Spring 2026 underwear campaign.
Shot by photographer Daniel Sannwald, the campaign blends football and fashion through a series of clean studio visuals and short films. In the images, Raphinha appears wearing pieces from the brand’s latest underwear collections, including Icon Cotton Stretch and Icon Active Mesh designs built for comfort and movement. A football also appears throughout the campaign, connecting the visuals to the sport that shaped his career. The campaign launched globally across Calvin Klein stores, digital platforms and large outdoor billboards, continuing the brand’s long tradition of working with globally recognized athletes and cultural figures.
A Very Different Kind of Pressure
For Raphinha, however, the experience behind the camera felt completely different from anything he knows on the pitch. Despite playing in front of tens of thousands of fans every week, he admitted that posing for the campaign made him far more nervous than football ever does. “I confess I felt more pressure on set than playing for a full stadium,” he told GQ, explaining that standing in underwear in front of fifty people during the shoot was a totally new experience.
During the shoot, Raphinha also admitted that he tried to treat the experience as something completely new rather than comparing it to football. “I tried to learn some new tricks from the Calvin Klein team”. Preparing for the campaign also meant paying attention to details that usually do not matter for football matches. “Some additional abs and push-ups helped me look sharp in the pictures”, says the winger, joking that the extra training helped him feel more confident during the shoot. Looking back at the opportunity, Raphinha said the campaign also felt like a personal milestone. “I remember when I was young seeing the iconic campaigns with football stars and celebrities and just dreamed of one day being part of this universe”, he says.
The Brazilian has spent his entire life focused on football, where the environment is familiar and performance is instinctive. Modeling demanded something else. Confidence without a ball, patience in front of cameras, and repeating poses rather than attacking defenders. At the same time, the campaign allowed him to combine two things he grew up loving, music and football, which helped him feel more comfortable during the shoot. He explained, “this campaign was special because it allowed me to channel my love of music and football”.
The moment also arrives during an important period in his career. Looking ahead, he will represent Brazil at the 2026 World Cup. Even while stepping into fashion, his main focus remains the biggest stage in football. He reveals that, “playing a World Cup for Brazil is the peak for a Brazilian player… We are going to America on a mission”. With the 2026 World Cup approaching in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Raphinha says the national team is fully focused on the challenge ahead. That means the strange experience of walking through cities like New York this summer and potentially seeing his own Calvin Klein billboard on the street. Something even a Champions League night at Camp Nou could not have prepared him for.
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