Soft drink for a footballer (4)
I believe the answer is:
bale
'a footballer' is the definition.
(footballer Gareth Bale)
'soft drink' is the wordplay.
'soft' becomes 'b' (I've seen this in other clues).
'drink' becomes 'ale' (ale is a kind of drink).
'b'+'ale'='BALE'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for bale that I've seen before include "Unit of hay" , "Evil - bundle" , "Bundle of goods" , "Bound bundle" , "Bundle (of hay, say)" .)