The role of main character Santiago was originally going to be played by Diego Luna but he left to work on other projects. Kuno Becker actually called Diego before he took the role to hear Diego's reasons for not taking the role.
Brian Johnson of AC/DC has an appearance in this film as a Geordie fan. Before AC/DC, he sang in the band "Geordie".
The film series uses teams supplied or sponsored with Adidas for the main character's teams. If the producers had come to an agreement with Nike, their teams would have been used instead, with Arsenal, FC Barcelona and Brazil the teams set to be featured.
On 31st August 2021 Newcastle United signed a player from Mexico called Santiago Munoz, mirroring the events of the film where Santiago Munez is signed by the same club.
Stellan Skarsgård was cast in the film, but when Michael Winterbottom left the project, so did Skarsgård. He stated that "the only reason [he] wanted to do the movie was to work with Winterbottom".