What footballers do when they're bored
Mass postponements and tournament suspensions due to coronavirus have left dozens of professional footballers with plenty of time for... other things.
With Coronavirus rapidly spreading, the big domestic leagues and major international tournaments across the globe have postponed play.
Fans are scrambling for a cure to their football-free blues, but it’s the players themselves who could be most vulnerable.
Here are the bizarre ways other bored stars have tried (and at times, failed) to pass the time.
Richarlison's bad hair day
Isolation clearly has got the better of Richarlison, who decided to emulate the horrific hairdo first seen on fellow countryman Ronaldo at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Perhaps the Everton man is hoping the bad do, will spark an uptick in form when the Premier League resumes, joining this illustrious list of stars who turned bad hair into great football.
Balotelli's fireworks fail
The night before a big game is a time for introspection, rest and mental preparation for most footballers - but as we've seen on countless occasions, Mario Balotelli isn't like most footballers.
In the day prior to the Manchester derby in 2011, the enigmatic striker attempted to pass the time by setting his house alight after lighting fireworks with friends in his bathroom at 1am.
In true Balotelli fashion, he scored in that derby, revealing a ‘why always me’ message in celebration and City to beat United 6-1 – an unprecedented score-line in 179 matches between the clubs.
Dancing with the Ox
The hiatus couldn't have come at a worse time for Liverpool, with the Reds on the cusp of their first Premier League trophy in 30 years.
But that clearly hasn't dampened the spirt of Liverpool's Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, who took the chance to fine-tune his moves with girlfriend Perrie Edwards.
James Milner going stir crazy
In stark contrast to Liverpool team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner has taken the sensible route, catching up on a couple of mundane chores around the house.
The industrious midfielder has often been taunted as 'boring' by social media trolls in the past, and the 34 year-old seems to have turned the reputation into a badge of honour.
Begovic not content with Netflix and chill
'There's only so much Netflix you can watch' - that is according to AC Milan goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who instead has opted to keep his mind occupied during the coronavirus lockdown with his own podcast 'Asmir Begovic's season of sports'.
The 32 year-old has described Milan as a 'ghost city' in an interview with The Mirror.
“It’s so strange not being able to train. You try to do other things but there’s only so much Netflix you can watch," Begovic said.
"I try to keep busy, I’m trying to record some podcasts, keep myself ticking over and to not get down too much and patiently wait for normality to resume.”
Depay picks up the mic
Like many footballers, Netherlands star Memphis Depay has a keen interest in records, but the former Manchester United star's variety of records come off the football pitch.
In his downtime, Depay likes to dabble in rap and he's already amassed a big online following, with millions of views on YouTube for his single 'fall back'
It's not the only time the former Manchester United man dabbled in rap, check out this freestyle he released to celebrate 5 million followers in 2018.
At 26, the Lyon star appears to already have a life after football lined up.
