Apparently, a young Finnish striker named Eero Markkanen was released by Real Madrid Castilla because he entered preseason camp 18 kg (40 lbs) heavier than he was last season.
40 lbs in gained weight is nothing so scoff at. That’s like a third or a fourth of a person that this guy tried to walk into camp with. I don’t care if he’s 6’ 5” and his nickname is “The Tank” — he is and it is — that’s ridiculous.
Markkanen responded to being let go on Twitter.
Lenkille lähdössä. #18kg #kortisto #työkkärinjononkautta pic.twitter.com/UaMbMH0B8A
— Eero Markkanen (@eeromarkkanen) August 21, 2015
Clearly, he used some sort of face modifier app to get his mug to look like an over inflated water balloon.
Unfortunately, I don’t speak Finnish. I used Google Translate to see what exactly was said in the Tweet, and what I got is confusing. “A run-off” is what comes back, which makes me think that the term is some sort of Finnish slang. Never the less, he obviously thinks that the club overreacted, and he might also feel wrongly persecuted.
Now, I don’t now the playbook for how to respond to getting dropped from a world-class club for being overweight, but this seems…underwhelming. He cracked a joke; it comes off as lazy, which is the exact opposite of what you want to come off as when you were just dropped for being out of shape.
Let’s hope those 1,400 favorites light a fire under him instead of making him think he’s won the battle. Lord knows he seems to be on the way to losing the war with himself.
Follow me on Twitter: @yetly