The scourge of coronavirus appears getting scarier and deadlier with each passing day in Europe, with many very prominent football personalities now being affected by the scourge, megasportsarena.com reports.
This weekend has now produced bad news about four top players of the game, including Maroune Fellaini, Paulo Dybala and Paolo Maldini infected with the widespread respiratory disease, while a former Real Madrid president, Lorenzo Sanz has been reported dead.
Startling news revealed that Sanz, who was Real Madrid’s president from 1995 to 2000, during which time they won the UEFA Champions League twice, died of coronavirus aged 76.
La Liga has announced that Sanz had been admitted to hospital with a fever and tested positive for the virus, adding: “We want to send our deepest condolences for the recent death of Lorenzo Sanz, with whom many of us have shared work and friendship. We share in the pain of this loss, especially for Real Madrid, the club of which he was president for years. Rest in peace.”
His other son, Fernando Sanz, who played for Real during his father’s spell as president, said in the past week that his father had been admitted to hospital but the family were unsure at that stage whether he had the disease
From a former club boss to an active player, and Fellaini has been diagnosed with coronavirus following his return to China, where he plays for Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Super League.
Fellaini, who joined Shandong last January from Manchester United, returned to the country on Friday to join up with his club and tested positive for the coronavirus.
The former Belgium international did not have a fever and was asymptomatic, the club said, and has now been placed in quarantine.
Also involved is a former playewr, as AC Milan director Paolo Maldini and his son, Daniel, have both tested positive for coronavirus.
Both Paolo and 18-year-old forward Daniel – who made his first-team Milan debut last month – have spent the last two weeks in quarantine and will continue to remain in isolation, the Serie A club said in a statement.
The club stated: “AC Milan confirms that Paolo Maldini, the club’s technical director, became aware of contact with a person who subsequently tested positive for Coronavirus and began to display symptoms of the virus himself.”
Also in Italy, Juventus and Argentina striker Paulo Dybala has tested positive for coronavirus.
The 26-year-old forward is currently asymptomatic and is self-isolating at home, from where he announced on Twitter that he and his partner Oriana Sabatini had both tested positive. He is the third Juve player affected after defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
Dybala wrote: “Hi everyone, I just wanted just to inform you that we have received the results for the Covid-19 test and both Oriana and I have tested positive. Luckily we are in perfect conditions. Thanks for your messages.”