Football features

FOOTBALL may be these athletes’ lives, but even the dedicated pros like to switch off and do something completely different.
And there’s a list of bizarre hobbies these stars past and present love to do to unwind, from playing bingo to saving chickens or going mushroom hunting.

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When Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t playing football he’s enjoying an unusual pastimeCredit: AP:Associated Press

So, forget FIFA or a round of golf, like most spend their hours playing.
SunSport rounds up the most bizarre hobbies we’ve seen footballers admit doing.
We lead with a GOAT contender…
CRISTIANO RONALDO
In his downtime, it’s true the Juventus legend spends most of his time sculpting his chiselled physique.

But, when he was an up-and-coming talent at Manchester United he developed a love of bingo.
He claimed it helped him learn English, although we’re still struggling to imagine him sat at a table in a Mecca Bingo in Sale.
“Playing bingo can be very exciting,” Ronaldo said in a 2008 interview.
“It can be very exciting because you can be there waiting for a long time for just the one number to make the game complete.

“Then you see one of your friends you are playing against get his lucky number before you.”

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Ronaldo once admitted he loves playing bingoCredit: Reuters

DAVID BECKHAM
En garde!
When Inter Miami owner Beckham hung about with Tom Cruise in Hollywood, they’d often fence together.
It was mutual friend actor Will Smith who made that reveal.
“This is his (Cruise’s) way of getting together and bonding,” Smith said.
“David and I go to his home and just do fencing.”

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En garde! Beckham learned the art of fencing in LACredit: Getty Images – Getty
JOE ALLEN
The Stoke and Wales international appeared on the front cover of Chicken & Egg magazine, happy to talk about his favourite pastime.
Allen and his wife save hens.
And he once revealed he owned chickens called Bruce, Rodney, Meg, Leg, Silkie Steve, Kate, Silkie Steve Junior, Giblets, Snowy, Nugget, Kiev, Dora, Holly, Shimmer, Shine and Chickaletta.
That’s not to be confused with the Stoke line-up tonight against Wolves.

XAVI
The Barcelona icon is mad about mushrooms. And not them ones, before you get smart.
He’s got an obsession with mycology – better known as mushroom hunting, which is a first.
Pals Gerard Pique and his glam missus Shakira have reportedly joined Xavi on a trek for some rare shrooms.
“Someone who picks mushrooms can’t be a bad bloke,” his former boss Pep Guardiola once said.

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Xavi goes out mushroom hunting in his spare timeCredit: Corbis
MATT OAKLEY
Watch out, they’ll bite your hands off!
Former Leicester City star Oakley’s strange and frankly dangerous hobby involved collecting South American red-bellied piranha.
“I wanted something unusual,” he said.
“They certainly make feeding time interesting.”

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Former Leicester star Matt Oakley collects piranhaCredit: PA:Press Association
TONI KROOS
Spot of arrows, anyone?
Should you ask Real Madrid star Toni Kroos that question, he’ll likely snatch them off you and go straight for a treble 20.
The midfielder loves darts and is also a big fan of Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.

In fact, he once tweeted: “This career is unrepeatable. Darts means @PhilTaylor!”

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Toni Kroos is a big fan of darts and Phil TaylorCredit: AFP or licensors

MORITZ VOLZ
The former Arsenal and Fulham defender sounds like he’s destined for The Great British Bake Off.
And Volz, who now works as an assistant coach at RB Leipzig, enjoyed baking for his team-mates, often catering for the type of cake for the fixture ahead.
“When we played the big clubs like Arsenal or Manchester United, I made a biscuit-based cake with bananas and a dusting of green tea,” he once revealed.
“If we were playing against more rugged teams like Blackburn Rovers, I would made something a lot heavier, like carrot cake with nuts.”

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Mortiz Volz loved to bake cakes for his team-matesCredit: AP:Associated Press
AXEL TUANZEBE
When your hobby is a kids’ game and you hold a world record in it, is that a cause for concern?
Not if you’re Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe, who is a whizz at Hungry Hippos.
“We have had a great day adjudicating a range of record attempts with the Manchester United football team as part of their collaboration with Guinness World Records,” said adjudicator Adam Brown.
“Axel Tuanzebe, was the bigger winner of the day and bagged himself the record for fastest time to clear a game of Hungry Hippos in a time of 17.36 seconds, beating competition from his fellow team-mates.”

Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to clear a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos ever, at just over 17 seconds! 👀😂 pic.twitter.com/3xFyaJxHQS
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) July 19, 2018

PETR CECH
It was inevitable that Cech would pick a hobby that was the polar opposite of the calm, mild demeanour that the Chelsea legend exudes.
But a quick click on YouTube and you’ll find clips of the ex-Arsenal keeper drumming along to rock anthems from the Foo Fighters and Nirvana.
They say goalies are mad.
But any band will tell you that drummers are crazier.

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Cech’s handy with his hobby playing drumsCredit: PA:Press Association
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ANDREY ARSHAVIN
Believe it or not, before the former Arsenal star thought about a career in football he had ambitions to be a fashion designer.
Arshavin studied design at the university in Saint Petersburg, after switching from chemical technology because he complained there weren’t enough women on his course.
His thesis, quite brilliantly, was a suit that could be worn for both business and playing sport.
Today, he has a successful women’s fashion line in Russia.

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Former Arsenal star Andrey Arshavin has a fashion design degree and designs women’s clothesCredit: Graham Hughes – The Times
GABRIEL BATISTUTA
The legendary Argentinian striker was a legend for various clubs and country.
In 2005, after a stellar career, he hung up his boots.

But he wasn’t done just yet. He took up polo and became a winner in that -lifting the 2009 Copa Stella Artois with the Tom Tailor team.
“I went down like I used to throw myself about in the Roma area,” he joked about a fall he suffered during the event.
Sadly his ankles, shot to pieces after years of scything tackles by Serie A defenders, couldn’t handle it and he had to quit polo soon after.

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Gabriel Batistuta took up his hobby polo when he retiredCredit: AFP – Getty

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WHO wants to be a billionaire?
Not many sports stars past and present have made that staggering amount during their careers.

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Lionel Messi is football’s second ever billionaireCredit: Offside

But this week, Barcelona legend Lionel Messi topped Forbes’ richest athletes list and reached $1billion (£760million) in pre-tax earnings.
He is the second footballer to do so – following in the footsteps of rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
In his 16-years at the top, Messi, 33, has earned a mega salary playing for the Catalans and his bank balance has been boosted by endorsement deals.
On the top of that, he’s a hotelier, has a clothing line designed by Tommy Hilfiger’s sister and is set to open his own theme park.

Here’s how Messi made his fortune.
A HEFTY SALARY
This summer, Messi toyed with the idea of leaving the Camp Nou, where he rose through the ranks.
However, the Argentinian performed a sensational u-turn and insisted he would stay for another year – and with the hefty salary he is paid, you can’t blame him.
When Messi became Barcelona’s talisman at the age of 20, he was handed a contract worth £90,000-per-week, which made him one of the best paid players in the team at that time.

But today, after winning La Liga 10 times and four Champions League titles, they have heavily rewarded their iconic star with more dough.

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Messi is the best paid star at Barcelona

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Incredibly, Messi can earn as much as £110million in a yearCredit: AP:Associated Press
Messi’s salary starts at £71million-per-year, but that doesn’t include bonuses for winning trophies.
Should he play 60 per cent of Barcelona’s games until 2021, when his contract ends, he can earn somewhere in the region of £98million.
And if he leads Barça to the treble, scooping the Ballon d’Or again (he has a record six already), that figure could be as much as an astonishing £110million for the year.
Bear in mind, with his contract ending at the end of the season, he could earn MORE should he leave for pastures new.
SPONSOR ME
The clamour to sponsor one of the game’s greats, as well as a man who has become such a role model for youngsters, is clear.
That’s why Messi has some of the world’s most famous companies queuing up to endorse him.
He makes a mouth-watering £24million-per-year from endorsements alone, according to Forbes.
The biggest deal he has is a lifetime contract with Adidas he signed in 2017. That’s believed to bring in £9million each year.
The German sports manufacturer has made him the face of their brand – and in 2015 he was the first footballer to release a sub-brand of Adidas boots – the Adidas Messi.

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Messi has a lifetime deal with Adidas worth £9m-per-yearCredit: Handout

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Pepsi pay Messi hansomeley to appear in their commercialsCredit: Pepsi

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Brands like Budweister are happy to jump on the Messi bandwagonCredit: Instagram
As the years pass, and when Messi finally hangs up his boots, that could be just as lucrative for the forward as the Air Jordan sub-band Nike created for Michael Jordan (another sporting billionaire) is.
Pepsi, Gatorade, Huawei, Budweiser and Mastercard are other brands that have jumped on the Messi bandwagon.
FASHION AND FAME
Last year, like Ronaldo, Messi made his first foray into the fashion world.
He released his clothing label, partnering with Ginny Hilfiger, and sells the range in his own shop, The Messi Store.
There, fashionistas can find leisurewear priced above high-street prices.
Bespoke Saville Row tailors Richard James also have a collaboration of fine suits through the Messi clothing line.
Maria Sol, Messi’s sister, is believed to play a major role in the creative process behind the range.

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Messi partnered with Ginny Hilfiger, left, and his sister Maria Sol helps with the creative process of their fashion brand

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Messi models his own brand

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A Chinese theme park is in the works based on Messi’s career

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Messi Experience Park will feature various immersive exhibitions, live performances by robots and holograms
And Messi isn’t done with the thrill-seeking just yet.
Although details are sparse, development is still on-going for the Messi Experience Park – the world’s biggest football-themed park.
Based in China, it will feature various immersive exhibitions, live performances by robots and holograms, and will chronicle Messi’s rise from Rosario to global superstar.
PLACE TO STAY
In 2017, Messi became a hotelier – buying the MiM Sitges in a coastal resort near Barcelona for £26million.
The four-star hotel with panoramic views of the ocean from its rooftop restaurant, bar and pool area has 77 rooms priced at around £120-per-night.
Close to the beach, it’s part of Messi’s growing portfolio of hotels.

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In 2017 Messi bought his first hotel MiM Sitges for £26mCredit: Hotel MiM Sitges

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In recent years, Messi has expanded his hotel portfolio with Hotel MiM Ibiza Es ViveCredit: Instagram @hotelesvive

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Messi has enough business ventures outside the game to continue to make a fortune after he retiresCredit: Instagram @antoroccuzzo88

In recent years he has added resorts in Majorca and Ibiza to his real estate roster.
With all these plans in place, Messi has business ventures that’ll bring him millions when his playing days are behind him.
In fact, his name will probably still prop up on Forbes’ rich list for years to come. More

“I DON’T believe it,” posted broadcaster and veteran Everton fan Elton Welsby during Sunday’s 1-0 win at Tottenham.  “We’ve got a midfield, and a solid one at that.”
It was indeed an impressive start to the season for the most South American Everton of all time; with big Colombian defender Yerry Mina cleaning up in the air, Brazilian striker Richarlison full of thrust and threat – and in the midfield, the sector of the side so praised by Welsby, a pair of debutants who enjoyed a very promising afternoon.

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James Rodriguez has a debut to remember for Everton in the 1-0 win over SpursCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Both are 29, both have worked before with coach Carlo Ancelotti. But there the similarities end.
PRESENCE OF ALLAN
Allan, from Brazil, is not a glamorous player.  He is often valued more by coaches than he is by fans. 
He does not do much to hit the headlines.  But he does plenty that is useful.
He is a little problem solver, spotting the danger, filling the gaps, linking the lines.

Brazil coach Tite, when he first brought Allan into his squad, said that the player has wheels instead of feet.
Come the end of last year Allan was fading from the international scene.
Casemiro is Brazil’s holding midfielder. Alongside him they need someone who can offer more in the final third than Everton’s new signing.
But that is not going to be a problem in Ancelotti’s team – not least because of the presence of James Rodriguez.

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Allan worked tirelessly in Everton’s engine roomCredit: Getty Images – Getty
GETTING THE BEST OUT OF JAMES
The Colombian played a splendid 90 minutes, reminding everyone that the star who lit up the 2014 World Cup has not gone away.
The Real Madrid move did not come off.
There is only space for so many players to shine at the Bernabeu – and Rodriguez lacked the extreme pace to be one of them.
Even so, in the right circumstances, he can exude confidence and quality. 
His displays for Colombia, where he thrives on being the go-to player, have consistently been of a high standard.
After his triumph of 2014, the problem in Russia 2018 was his fitness – which, it is true to say, has been a nagging doubt in recent years.
He was only able to play one full game – when Colombia’s 3-0 win over Poland was one of the best performances of the tournament.
Had he been fit for the second round tie with England, then Colombia would surely have been more positive and Jordan Pickford would have had more to do.
Now they are team-mates, Pickford can enjoy watching Rodriguez from between his goal posts.
And Richarlison will also enjoy lining up with the Colombian.
Time and again on Sunday Rodriguez was able to bring the Brazilian into the game with long diagonal passes – a left footed version of the kind of service that Liverpool right back Trent Alexander-Arnold supplies to his team-mates.

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Rodriguez got the best out of Richarlison as the pair linked up well against SpursCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Future opponents will have watched closely, and will aim to block the pass by forcing Rodriguez on to his right foot.
But James is versatile.
He can operate all across the line, even, as he sometimes did at Bayern Munich, playing in a deeper central role and popping up as an element of surprise.
With Allan carrying the water, and Rodriguez turning it into wine, Elton Welsby and other Everton fans have a lot to look forward to over the next few months.

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