French Ligue 1
HOW TOP PLAYERS ARE COPING WITH CORONAVIRUS INDUCED VOID
Mowing the lawn, playing football with your dog, turning on the TV… footballers around Europe are struggling to fill the “big void” created by the coronavirus shutdown.
Many are writing about the unfamiliar experience on social media. Some have already come to the conclusion that “there is nothing to do”.
Real Madrid players, forced into quarantine by a case of coronavirus in the club’s basketball squad, have been training at home, where most of them already had facilities and equipment.
Captain Sergio Ramos posted a video on Instagram showing him
sprinting on a treadmill.
Marco Asensio, who suffered a knee injury last summer, posted a video showing that he was continuing his recovery programme in his garden.
But even for sportsmen used to working out, there is a limit.
“I’m here, in my garden, there’s nothing to do,” French striker Karim Benzema said in a video on social media where he appeared alongside his dog, earning him a comparison with Will Smith in the post-apocalyptic film I Am Legend.
Fabien Causeur, a Real Madrid basketball guard, has launched a live video channel to show his quarantine challenge.
He has been taking on athletes and celebrities in three-minute simultaneous exercise including Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, and National Basketball Association star and former Real Madrid teammate Luka Doncic.
At Barcelona, players are following a “specific and personalised” programme set by the club which is monitoring their efforts remotely using biometric tags.
Luis Suarez had been a step ahead of Ramos, posting a video of himself trudging on a treadmill last week.
In Italy, Juventus midfielder Douglas Costa filmed himself practising his dribbling in his back garden with his dog struggling to fill the role of defender.
Alexis Sanchez, on loan to Inter Milan, has two golden retrievers and a much bigger garden but he comfortably outplayed them in a video he put up online. He also posted photos of himself topless, gathering chopped wood.
Jessica Melena, the wife of Ciro Immobile, posted a cookery video on Instagram, showing the Lazio striker waving a spatula and mixing a cake while she coached him.
Immobile posted his own video in which he juggled furry toys with his feet.
Napoli’s Belgian forward Dries Mertens posted pictures of a work out with a huge bottle of red wine.
In France, Strasbourg midfielder Adrien Thomasson, was looking ahead to another empty week.
“We’ll have nothing to do, in the middle of the season, it’s never happened before. Our habits have been turned upside down,” he said.
Thomasson is a ski fan but as other sports are also at a standstill that leaves a “big void” for this ski lover.
“I’m going to watch series, movies, it’s going to be really limited.”
Television is also the refuge for James Lea Siliki, a Rennes midfielder, who tweeted the times of a couple of French quiz shows. Later he admitted a passion for a French TV karaoke show adding, “I’ll spare you my voice”.
Romain Thomas, a defender at Angers, said his daily routine involved jogging, gardening and watching French reality TV.
He said he has talked to teammates.
“We said to each other, ‘Look, it’s a beautiful day, it’s time to mow’. So I mowed the lawn in the garden, it gives me time to think about something else.”
– AFP
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
- OBITUARY6 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON4 days ago
Nigeria, Tunisia Set for High-Stakes WAFCON 2024 Clash in Casablanca
- OBITUARY6 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY4 days ago
Peter Rufai and I, Ike Shorunmu, pays tribute to late mentor
- OBITUARY6 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- WAFCON3 days ago
WAFCON 2024: At last, Super Falcons break opening match losing streak
- IMMEMORIAL6 days ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football