Zidane’s Next Move: Why One of Football’s Greatest Is Betting Big on Padel

The latest from Hidden Sports
Written by David

When Zinedine Zidane invests in something, the world tends to take notice. The man whose grace and genius defined an era of football is now putting his name, money, and passion behind something a little different and if you're not paying attention, you might miss one of the most interesting shifts happening in European sport right now.

Zidane isn’t backing a football academy. He’s not returning to coaching just yet. Instead, he’s going all-in on padel - a sport once dubbed “tennis with walls” that’s rapidly becoming Europe’s next obsession.

And this isn’t a half-hearted celebrity endorsement. It’s a €5 million investment. Thirteen courts. A 13,000 square meter facility. Bars, five-a-side football, food, fitness, and full community access.

Welcome to Z5 Padel Toulouges, Zidane’s newest passion project. And possibly the most important story in padel you haven't heard about.

Building More Than Courts

Let’s start with the basics. Zidane’s new complex in Toulouges, near Perpignan in southern France, is a bold expansion of his Z5 sports center brand. The facility, due to open in 2026, will feature:

• 🏟️ 13 padel courts (indoor & outdoor)

• ⚽ Five-a-side football pitches

• ☕ A full bar and restaurant

• 🏋️ Multi-use fitness spaces

• 🌱 A community-first design across 13,000 square metres

This isn’t just a bunch of courts behind a chain-link fence. It’s a full-on sporting campus. One built with accessibility in mind, somewhere you could host a serious match or just bring your mates for a social hit and a post-game drink.

And it’s not his first.

Zidane already runs successful Z5 locations in Aix-en-Provence, Istres, and even Turin, the latter marking his first move outside France. Each complex combines small-sided football and padel, wrapped in a clean, modern brand that feels like it belongs in 2025, not 1995.

This Toulouges development is the most ambitious yet. And what’s clear is this: Zidane isn’t building to flex. He’s building to grow something.

A Personal Love for the Game

Zidane has been fairly open about why he’s leaning into padel. Quite simply……he loves it.

He’s talked about how padel offers a unique mix of fun, fitness, and accessibility. You don’t need to be super athletic to enjoy it. You don’t need to have grown up with a racket in your hand. It’s easy to learn, tough to master, and addictive once you get into the rhythm.

It’s also, crucially, social. Padel is almost always played in doubles. The court is smaller. The rallies are longer. The vibe is lighter. You play. You laugh. You talk. And then you come back next week.

For an athlete whose career was built on technical flair, tactical intelligence, and that rare ability to feel a game, padel is the perfect post-retirement passion. It rewards instinct and touch more than brute strength. It has a rhythm. A musicality.

And it lets Zidane stay close to the sporting world - without the weight of managing egos, boardrooms, or billion-euro expectations.

A Growing Trend Among Legends

Zidane’s not the only football icon backing padel.

• Cristiano Ronaldo invested in City Padel in Spain.

• Zlatan Ibrahimović helped open a premium padel facility in Sweden.

• Jurgen Klopp has spoken publicly about his love of the sport and brought it into training for fun recovery days.

What’s drawing them in? Part of it is business. Padel is booming. The global padel equipment market alone is forecast to hit nearly $400 million by 2030. New clubs are opening weekly across Europe and Latin America. In the UK, searches for “padel courts near me” have exploded.

But it’s also cultural. Former athletes miss the game. Not always the spotlight, but the feeling of movement, competition, flow. Padel offers just enough structure and fun to satisfy those instincts.

It’s not surprising that many of these elite sportsmen are becoming unofficial ambassadors for the sport. What’s more surprising is just how far they’re willing to go to build it.

Zidane, in particular, isn’t just showing up to ribbon-cuttings. He’s turning padel into his next chapter.

A Boost for French Padel

France has always been a stronghold of tennis. But padel is quickly becoming part of the national sporting conversation, especially with the support of figures like Zidane.

His investment arrives at the perfect moment:

• 🇫🇷 Over 2,000 padel courts are now in use across France

• 📈 Participation is growing by 20% year-over-year

• 🏆 France recently hosted Premier Padel and A1 Padel events, pulling in huge crowds

By building in Toulouges, Zidane isn’t just capitalising on a trend - he’s helping bring the sport deeper into communities. Into smaller cities. Into places where padel might not have hit yet.

And that’s what makes this project feel different. This isn’t a fancy rooftop court in Paris. It’s grassroots……but at scale.

Here’s what stands out most: Zidane’s Z5 brand isn’t just about elite sport. It’s about community which we love here at Hidden Sports.

Everything about the way he builds, from multipurpose pitches to on-site cafes, suggests he wants people to gather. To play, yes, but also to talk. To build friendships, to bring their kids and to be part of something.

That’s where padel fits so perfectly. It’s not just a sport, it’s a scene. And Zidane is helping shape the scene in France and beyond.

There’s something quietly revolutionary about one of football’s most iconic figures choosing this as his passion project. Not a coaching job. Not a sportswear line. But a sport that still feels young, still feels open, and still has room to grow.

With Z5 Toulouges underway and the success of his earlier centers clear, it’s easy to imagine a future where Zidane becomes one of the leading faces of European padel.

He may not have the biggest facility or the flashiest brand. But he has something that’s arguably more powerful: trust. Vision. And love for the game.

And in a sport that’s still defining itself, that could go a long way.

So next time you step onto a padel court, or pass one by, remember this:

Zidane’s already there, helping shape the future of sport, one rally at a time.

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