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Top 10 footballers who tested positive for COVID-19

September 30

Since the coronavirus pandemic took over the world earlier in 2020, several high-profile footballers and managers have unfortunately contracted the virus despite adhering to social distancing norms in their daily lives. Players like Paul Pogba, Neymar and Paulo Dybala and managers like Mikel Arteta, Diego Simeone and David Moyes among others have been found COVID-19 positive in recent weeks.

Since the pandemic has affected the whole world, it has also changed the football scene dramatically. From playing in empty stadiums to sitting in the dugout with facemasks on, football has had to do its fair share of adjustments to continue to function.

However, some players and staff members still managed to get infected by the coronavirus despite taking every precaution possible, mainly due to factors that happen outside the field. Without any further ado, take a look at our list of the top ten footballers that have been tested positive for Covid-19 yet.

Callum Hudson-Odoi

Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi had released a video confirming that he had contracted the coronavirus in March earlier this year. This led to Chelsea closing off their training facilities temporarily and everyone that came into close contact with the Englishman was asked to self-isolate.

The English youngster is fighting his way back into the Chelsea squad under manager Frank Lampard, having signed a contract extension last season despite facing interest from the likes of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)

Keylor Navas

Just before the start of the current French Ligue 1 campaign, six Paris Saint-Germain stars were found positive for the coronavirus and including them was the goalkeeper, Keylor Navas as well. The players were swiftly asked to self-isolate and recovered soon.

A former Real Madrid player, Navas joined the Parisiens in the 2019-20 season and made his way to his first-ever Ligue 1 title in his maiden season in France. PSG also reached the finals of the Champions League, where they lost to Bayern Munich.

Daniele Rugani

Juventus’ defender Daniele Rugani was one of the earliest reported cases of Covid-19 from the Italian Serie A. The centre-back released a statement following the revelation of him being positive to Covid-19 and said, “I urge everyone to respect the rules, because this virus makes no distinctions! Let’s do it for ourselves, for our loved ones and for those around us.”

Kylian Mbappe

On September 8 2020, Kylian Mbappe also found himself positive to Covid-19 which made him miss out on his national duty for France in the UEFA Nations League fixture against Croatia. Incidentally, he was the seventh PSG player to have contracted the virus after the six players were tested positive. Mbappe since has made a full recovery but is yet to reach optimum match fitness.

Marquinhos

Paris Saint-Germain seemed to have really failed to control their players’ pre-season movements as their long-time serving defender Marquinhos also reported positive to Covid-19 along with six other first-team players.

Paulo Dybala

Juventus and Argentina forward, Paulo Dybala was found positive to Covid-19 not once but four times. After announcing back in March that he and his girlfriend had been tested positive for coronavirus, Dybala was tested several times and was found Covid-19 positive four times by the end of April. Since then, the attacker has managed to adhere to social distancing norms and avoided a fifth positive test.

He has since returned to action with Juventus, who have started their 2020-21 campaign well. Having signed the likes of Arthur Melo, the Bianconeri are keen to end their Champions League drought by trying and winning it this season.

Angel Di Maria

Another senior figure in the PSG squad who contracted coronavirus was Angel Di Maria. He was reportedly one of the six players that recently failed to follow social distancing guidelines in the pre-season and ended up catching the virus. The Argentine made a quick recovery after isolating away from the rest of the squad.

Paul Pogba

A fortnight before Manchester United’s opening game of the new Premier League campaign. Paul Pogba reportedly was found positive to Covid-19 in the latest round of testing. MUFC have also been one of the clubs criticised for not controlling their players’ postseason movements, making them more exposed. Pogba has since recovered, but has lacked match fitness due to lack of training.

He has since returned to action for the Red Devils, who recently survived a one-goal deficit to strike back thrice and win against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League last weekend.

Neymar

The Brazilian superstar Neymar also contracted coronavirus during the preseason festivities along with his PSG teammates in Ibiza, Spain. The fact that six first-team players reported positive made PSG’s loss in their first game of the season against RC Lens. None of the six players featured in 1-0 loss on 10 September.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic reported positive for Covid-19 a day after helping his current employers, AC Milan win their Serie A fixture against Bologna. The Swede scored a brace in the 2-0 victory after signing another year extension with the Azzurri. The forward has since self-isolated and is on the way to make a full recovery soon.

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