From venture capital to vermin: Cody Gakpo’s LinkedIn hustle vs Anfield reality

Last Updated on 25 February 2026

Cody Gakpo has built a digital persona that reads like a startup founder’s highlight reel. His LinkedIn posts talk of vision, growth, and angel investments in AI ventures, all framed with the calm certainty of a man mapping out his post-football empire.

It’s a modern footballer archetype: the portfolio player, equally fluent in xG and ROI. On social media, Gakpo appears less like a winger navigating defensive lines and more like an executive scanning pitch decks between training sessions.

Yet away from Anfield and algorithms, a far grimmer narrative has surfaced in the Netherlands. And it’s one that has begun to collide directly with how Liverpool supporters see him.

The ‘Samaritan’ scandal: when the brand meets the basement

For a player known for his public faith and Bible study leadership, scrutiny around his property firm Samaritan has landed hard. Daily Mail described tenants in Rotterdam and Roermond living in cramped, vermin-infested flats tied to Gakpo’s portfolio.

Residents reported mould-covered walls, rodent infestations, and unsafe conditions while paying rents reportedly above local averages. Images of dead mice in stairwells circulated online, turning what might have been a niche housing dispute into a viral football scandal.

In Liverpool, the optics matter. This is a city whose football culture still carries anti-landlord sentiment and working-class solidarity as core identity markers. The “landlord” meme began as banter; it has since hardened into criticism.

For many supporters, the contrast between sermons about stewardship and allegations of neglect proved jarring.

Output vs optics: when the side hustle meets the left wing

The backlash isn’t only ethical; it’s sporting.

During an inconsistent Liverpool season, Gakpo’s on-pitch influence has often felt peripheral, particularly on the left where supporters expect directness and intensity. His style, measured, positional, sometimes passive, already divides opinion in a fanbase raised on urgency.

Now the narrative has merged. When a player trends more for venture capital than goal contributions, distraction becomes the only explanation. Fan forums and terraces alike have fused his business image with his football form:

The executive winger, spreadsheets before sprints.

Fair or not, perception shapes patience at Anfield. And patience is thinning.

Cody Gakpo’s reputation at a crossroads

Gakpo has stepped into a rare modern trap: over-branding. By leaning heavily into his “investor-athlete” identity, he has invited scrutiny far beyond typical football discourse. He is no longer judged solely on goals and assists but on consistency between message and conduct.

For Liverpool supporters, authenticity still outweighs polish. To reset the narrative, Gakpo likely needs two parallel turnarounds: tangible improvements in tenant conditions and decisive performances on the pitch.

Without both, the LinkedIn posts risk reading less like ambition and more like escape. The question now is simple and brutal in equal measure: will Cody Gakpo be remembered at Anfield for goals, or for growth strategies?