Role models? These 9 active footballers are regular smokers
Despite the fact that these footballers need their lungs at optimum condition, these players care not and are regular chain smokers.
Past footballers no longer playing professionally who loved to smoke include Zinedane Zidane, Socrates, Fabian Barthez, Roberto Carlos, Diego Maradona, Gianluca Vialli, Carlo Ancelotti, Arsene Wenger and Johann Cruyff.
While smoking was the norm back in the days, football has changed as health campaigns are organised to stop players smoking but somtimes these players want a puff.
We are not talking of one off smokers or those who have stopped (sorry Neymar, Lionel Messi, Fabio Coentrao, Raheem Sterling) we are looking at regular smokers who never hide their addiction.
Here are 9 footballers who smoke;
1. Mario Balotelli
What mischief has he not done? He has been caught smoking everywhere from a train to the players locker room to his home. To be honest, he does know how to hold a cigarette .
Mario Balotelli is a chain smoker
2. Mesut Ozil
Despite Arsene Wenger’s strong stance against smoking, Ozil still loves a puff. Rumours say he does it when he is alone. We still love our assist king.
Mesut Ozil has been snapped a couple of times taking a puff
3. Dimitar Berbatov
His slow style of play had the hallmarks of a smoker whose lungs couldn’t allow him run too much. Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly allowed him smoke as far as he wasn’t a heavy drinker.
Dimitar-Berbatov does not try to hide his smoking habits
4. Jack Wilshere
Regularly snapped puffing something. On loan at Bournemouth from Arsenal. he has been fined twice by Arsene Wenger for smoking.
Jack-Wilshere is another chain smoker
5. Wojciech Szczęsny
The on-loan Arsenal shotstopper was fined twice by Arsene Wenger for smoking and was once caught with a stick in the players locker room which got the Frenchman furious.
6. Obafemi Martins
If you visit clubs regularly in Nigeria, it is not a new sight to see Obafemi Martins smoke shisha or what have you. The picture below even shows he smokes in his leisure time at home.
Obafemi-Martins is a regular smoker at Nigerian clubs
7. Ashley Cole
Once the bad boy of English football, he is still a smoker despite enjoying his last playing days at LA Galaxy.
Cole is another who has admitted smoking regularly
8. Wesley Sneidjer
According to rumours, his partying and smoking habits led to his inability to stay at the top during his Inter Milan days. Always caught smoking in public.
Wesley Sneijder is a chain smoker and loves to party
9. Radja Nainggolan
The AS Roma man is one of the world’s best central midfielders but his smoking habits was revealed during EURO 2016 by former Belgium coach Marc Wilmots.
According to Wilmots, Nainggolan was given a room with a balcony at Euro 2016 – because he smokes.
The Roma midfielder was the only smoker in the Belgium squad, but Wilmots said Nainggolan would “trash” his hotel room if banned from smoking.
Radja Nainggolan in action for AS Roma
Special mention: Rumours say Wayne Rooney is an occasion smoker. How true that is is debatable…
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