Footballers are expected to keep up a good health in order to be fit for the beautiful game. But they are not perfect, they are like every other human being with a bad habit so hard to abstain from, even when there are strong warnings and health implications – just like ‘smokers are liable to die young.’
The beautiful game has changed and so has its ethics and morals. While smoking was the norm back in the days, football has organized and introduced different health campaigns to stop players smoking but sometimes these players want a puff.
While we give credits to some of the footballers who have quit smoking, the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Fabio Coentrao, Raheem Sterling among others, lets take a view at regular smokers who never hide their addiction.
01. Mario Balotelli
Balotelli can be tagged the bad guy in the good game. The Italian has been linked with so many mischiefs and smoking is one of them. He has been caught smoking everywhere from a train to the players’ locker room to his home and where not?
02. Mesut Ozil
Despite Arsene Wenger’s strong condemnation on smoking, his player, Ozil still steals a puff. Rumours have it that he does it in secluded places but one thing he should know is the fact that he is a footballer and there paparazzis everywhere waiting to do their job.
03. Wayne Rooney
The Everton player has been pictured for the umpteenth time sparking up.
04. Jack Wilshere
The 25-year old Arsenal player has been regularly spotted puffing something and has been fined twice by Arsene Wenger for smoking.
05. Wojciech Szczesny
The former Arsenal stopper who is now in Serie A, Juventus precisely has been fined twice by Arsene Wenger for smoking and was once caught with a stick in the players’ locker room which got the Frenchman furious.
06. Ashley Cole
Another bad boy in the beautiful game, Ashley Cole he is still a confirmed smoker despite enjoying his last playing days at Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
07. Wesley Sneijder
Rumours have it that streams of parties and smoking habits led to his inability to stay at the top during his Inter Milan days. Always caught smoking in public.
08. Obafemi Martins
The Nigerian footballer is a regular face in clubs and it is not a new sight to see Martins smoke shisha or the likes. The picture above even shows he smokes in his leisure time at home.
09. Dimitar Berbatov
One player who certainly doesn’t look out of place with a cigarette in his hand is Dimitar Berbatov. The former Spurs, United, Fulham, Monaco and current Kerala Blasters forward when questioned about being spotted smoking, Berbatov replied: “no, sometimes when you see a picture I just pretend to smoke to make me more of a cool guy”.
10. Fabien Barthez
Former United and France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was famous for being a smoker, as well as an eccentric character. Paul Scholes revealed that both Barthez and Laurent Blanc would not start training until they had a cigarette each morning, and this was something that manager Sir Alex Ferguson was aware of too. Ferguson stated “I know Fabien smokes. I was even aware of that before he joined us.
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