Canadian rapper Drake has placed a $1.5 million (about N2.3 billion) bet on Argentina to defeat Spain in Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

The award-winning rapper, born Aubrey Drake Graham, shared a screenshot of the wager on his Instagram page ahead of the showpiece at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

According to the betting slip, Drake stands to win more than $5.1 million if Argentina successfully defend their World Cup title by beating Spain.

Sharing the screenshot with his millions of followers, the 39-year-old wrote, “What’s that saying??? Better luck next time…”

The high-stakes wager has once again sparked discussion around the so-called “Drake curse”—a long-running superstition among sports fans that athletes or teams backed by the rapper often go on to lose.

The superstition gained further attention after Drake lost a $1 million bet on former UFC champion Conor McGregor, who was beaten by Max Holloway.

Such is the popularity of the phenomenon that a website, TheDrakeCurse.com, was created to track the rapper’s sports betting history.

Away from sports, Drake returned to music earlier this year with the surprise release of three albums—Iceman, Maid Of Honour and Habibti—marking his first major projects since 2023.

The releases saw Iceman become his seventh number one album on the UK Albums Chart.

The five-time Grammy Award winner is known for hit songs including God’s Plan, One Dance, Passionfruit and Hold On, We’re Going Home.

Drake also made headlines in recent years over his highly publicised feud with American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who targeted him in the diss track Not Like Us. (Vanguard)

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