According to a recent article from Henry Winter in The Times, Manchester United’s academy dressing room proudly displays an image of Lionel Messi cleaning his own boots following a 2016 friendly between Argentina and Croatia at the old Boleyn Ground in London.
Here's the aformentioned image.
We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Champions League reactions and analysis to bring you a heartwarming story out of Central Michigan University that involves a soccer player, a drowning squirrel and "The Office."
The faded soccer ball, covered with scratches and thousands of signatures, is a testament to soccer's power to bring the world together. Kings, prime ministers, monks and professional footballers have knocked the ball around. The Ball has been kicked and headed all across the world. The Ball travels from Battersea Park in London to the World Cup every four years, and it started a new journey on March 25.
“The football I grew up playing is no longer there. Today, all players care about are their cars, their shoes with their names on, and their image. While for me, the only thing that counted was football. Nothing else.” -Miroslav Klose
Football is under attack. It’s a sentiment that, regardless of how much it resonates with you, is often expressed and passionately argued. Whatever the reason, be it the influx of money, the unsporting concentration of talent or the diminished draw of the international game, there’s cause for cynicism.
If there’s one thing people like more than football, it’s animals. Few can resist a cute pup, cuddly cat or rascally raccoon. OK maybe not so much the raccoon, but everyone definitely loves pictures of footballers with animals.
Soccer players, just like the rest of us, love their pets — and animals in general. We love soccer players and animals, so we felt it prudent to compile a list of the 30 cutest pictures of footballers with animals.