Balls In Their Eyes – Footballers Are Bingoing Mad
With wage packets that would make some movie-stars weep, modern footballers have it all: cars, model-wives, fame and wealth. With the world at their feet as well as the ball, perhaps the last pastime that we would associate with high-profile players is that of online bingo.

However, this is not the case, and as surely as football is the most popular game in the world, bingo is not far behind.

David Wheater, of Middlesborough and England, enjoys regular games of bingo with his girlfriend in his hometown of Redcar, North Yorkshire. It is no real surprise when you consider that football managers are always berating their players into looking after their bodies, meaning that they are usually contracted to avoid other contact sports and seek out non-stressful ways to enjoy themselves outside of training.

What more perfect way than bingo? The only stress involved in the game is the tension of nearing a line or full house and bearing the banter between players – something else that modern footballers are used to. Certainly, taking abuse from 20,000 plus opposing fans is far harder than the healthy jibes and encouraging chit-chat that is the norm in bingo forums across the land.

If the news that down-to-earth David Wheater playing bingo bears little surprise, a bingo fan that will certainly raise some eyebrows is former Ballon d'Or winner and highest paid player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo. Sure enough, the former Manchester United winger enjoys the thrill of the 90-ball game as much as the next woman, saying “It's exciting because you can be there waiting a long time for just one number to win”. With the way that Ronaldo's current team, Real Madrid, are going about their season - trailing La Liga leaders and arch-rivals Barcelona – you could be forgiven that he was remarking on results on the pitch rather than the bingo hall.

Given recent news reports about certain footballers playing away from home, more managers should perhaps take note of such players and their habits. They could most definitely benefit from urging their stars to undertake less strenuous and media-generating habits – at least press generated for the wrong reasons. It is, after all, unlikely that Ronaldo would suffer the humiliation of being removed as his country's captain for being caught with his dabber in his hand.

Little wonder, then, that a version of bingo has sprung forth utilising both of these hugely popular games, in which players dab cards that have written on them not numbers but positions or players. It seems that, for the non-millionaires amongst us, we can share our two most beloved sports together at last.