Private yachts and FIFA on an 8K TV screen…but how about muddy wellies and portobellos? Learn about the not-so-glamorous hobbies of football’s stars.
For the most part, the private lives of footballers represent unimaginable luxury, freedom, and adventure. As much as we may try, it is hard to imagine those quiet Sunday afternoons, bank holiday weekends, and long, dark midwinter nights being anything within the realm of even our wildest dreams.
And while that may well be true – at least some of the time, anyway – many of the biggest names in football have gone on record to boast, enthuse, or brag about their more ‘homespun’ hobbies.
Here are some of our favourites.
Joe Allen and Chickens
In 2016, Liverpool fans were somewhat surprised to spot Allen on the cover of the spring issue of Chicken & Egg Magazine.
Joe Allen has revealed his love for Hens in a Chicken and Egg magazine. pic.twitter.com/MLCngFl35q
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) March 21, 2016
An interest in animal welfare led him and his wife Lacey-Jo to house an entire brood of retired hens in their garden. While he admitted that he was a little unreliable when it came to helping out with spring-cleaning the coop, he is clearly adept at dreaming up names for the chickens. Some of our personal favourites include Kiev, Nugget, Leg, and Silkie Steve.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Bingo
Originally a great tool for improving his English, Cristiano Ronaldo had admitted to being “hooked” on playing a few rounds of bingo, after acquiring a DVD copy of the game many years ago.
And while the age of bingo DVDs may well have been made somewhat redundant with the rise of mobile gaming, we like to imagine that Ronaldo is still as big a fan of the game as ever — so keep an eye out for him taking time to play the best games on a top bingo app during half time. Perhaps this is one area where we stand a chance of beating him.
Xavi Hernandez and Mushrooms
A few years ago, Xavi admitted to being a fan of foraging for mushrooms.
Mycology — or the study of mushrooms — certainly offers a wealth of benefits for amateurs: the world of edible fungi promises some incredible nutritional benefits. Bursting with selenium, wild mushrooms are excellent immunity boosters, and the high levels of niacin make them ideal for our digestive systems — to name just a few.
Hal Robson-Kanu and Blockchain
There may well be nothing ‘homespun’ about blockchain, but we rarely imagine the stars heading off for a session in the office after practice.
Whether you’ve managed to wrap your head around it or not, Blockchain — a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), if that makes it any clearer — is Robson-Kanu’s second passion.
While he admits that the world of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency is not for everyone, he sees it as a wonderful outlet for his active mind. He tends to get straight down to business as soon as his duties over for the day – and you’ll find him head-down at his desk until well into the evening.
If you’re not off the idea completely, here is a (relatively) simple explainer on blockchain technology.
Nolberto Solano and Brass
While Solano’s most defining moment may be the 90th minute winner of 2001, he has gone on to make a name for himself as a talented trumpet player in the world of salsa. Although he has been studying the trumpet since his early teens, he only found the time to start his band — ‘The Georgie Latinos’ — since retiring from his professional playing career.
Image Credits:
Vienna Reyes, Unsplash
Andrew Ridley, Unsplash
