Many people may forget it sometimes, but professional soccer players are human beingsjust like us, only that theyget paid fordoing what most of us love to do in our spare time,to playthe beautiful game.
They may do this for a living, but thatdoesn’t mean they don’t have special feelings for a certain team, like any soccer fan does. Some players are lucky enough to represent thecrest andwear thecolors they love the most, while others have to settle with seeing them on TV when they have time.
But all diehard soccer fans will understand thatsometimes you just need to be there for your team, no matter what day of the weekit is nor how far away the game takes place. But Spanish midfielder Juan Carlos Menudo may have taken that passion to the next level.
Juan Carlos Menudo, the Spanish player who faked having Covid just to attend Copa del Rey final
Even though soccer fans sometimes do crazy things for their teams, putting a job on the line and faking to have Covid-19may be a bit excessive. Well, Menudo did that a couple ofweeks ago to attend the Copa del Rey final on Saturday, April 23.
Menudo, 30,pretended to have tested positive for Coronavirus just to skip training and miss the weekend’sgameof Deportivo La Coruñaso that he could travel to Seville to support his favorite team, Real Betis.
Juan Carlos Menudo. (Twitter @RCDeportivo)
Manuel Pellegrini‘s team set up a meeting against Valencia in a much anticipated final for all the Beticos, who were eager to see their club’s first success in 17 years. Menudo’s decision speaks a lot about the excitement all Betis fans were feeling prior to the big game.
He may have felt that taking such a big risk was worth it when Betis lifted the trophy after a dramatic penalty shootout, but he couldn’t get away with it. As soon as the Spanish thierd-tier team found out about Menudo’s lie, they rescinded his contract.
While some could say that Menudo got what he wanted, which was to see his team win a final in person, he may have jeopardized hiscareer. Whatclub will risksigning a player capable of going that far just to watch his team? Only time will tell.
