I know what you did this summer: holiday with the stars
Saturday, July 23, 2016
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The UEFA Champions League teams are preparing for the new season (some have actually started), albeit without a few post-EURO or Copa América stragglers. So what did they do on their hols?
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What do you give a man who already has pretty much everything? The Henri Delaunay Cup, apparently. No sooner had Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal colleagues returned to Lisbon and a hero's welcome than the Real Madrid man was back on a plane south, this time to Ibiza with his family. He has been reluctantly bearing his torso and posing for photos ever since, though dressed up to open his new hotel in Funchal, Madeira.
Ronaldo isn't the only player making the most of Portugal's golden summer. Beşiktaş forward Ricardo Quaresma hit the Algarve, where he met up with an emaciated Mickey Mouse. William Carvalho, having evoked memories of 1960s soul classics on the Seleção's journey back from France, enjoyed some family time. His Sporting CP team-mate Adrien Silva? He married his long-term partner.
Then there were the 529 other players at UEFA EURO 2016 who didn't return with silverware. France midfielder Paul Pogba headed to the United States with Belgium's Romelu Lukaku, taking out their frustrations on the basketball court and the barbeque. Pogba's Juventus team-mate Leonardo Bonucci opted for beach time with his family, while Napoli's Dries Marten went on a Californian road trip. The sun was evidently a bit much for Atlético striker Antoine Griezmann – he should ask Mönchengladbach keeper Yann Sommer for tips on chilling out.
UEFA EURO 2016 wasn't the only big tournament this summer, with Chile winning the Copa América. Arsenal forward Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal, the Bayern midfielder, were key to victory. Brazil and Mexico suffered chastening exits, but Javier Hernández and Jonas did their best to put it behind them, finding solace in American footballer JJ Watt and Princess Anna respectively.
Of course, not everybody has been on international duty (yet) this summer ...