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From Ibrahimovic basketball player to Lady Gaga president: April Fool’s Day in sport

Can a national team sell his own footballer to replenish the coffers of the State? An absurd question – with an obvious answer – but which in 2011 it became viral on social media for several hours. “The Portugalsubmerged by the public debt, decided to see the Spain for 160 million euros one of his jewels, Cristiano RonaldoHe wrote the Independent. And in a short time it became the most read news.

For many, however, it was enough look down on the calendar to realize that it was about a hoax: the first of April, in fact, has for centuries been identified as the day of the jokesi, even in sports. Especially in football, where the players are pushed from one team to another with strange reasons: from Maradona ready to move in Soviet Union to the transfer of Leo Messi to the rivals of the Real Madrid.

Fake news they tell of great champions eager to end their career in minor clubs (Roberto Baggio al Portogruaro e Francesco Totti al Latina) or to change discipline (Zlatan Ibrahimovic going to basketball, for example). There are coaches who get back into the game, you see Arrigo Sacchi cha accepts the offer of the amateurs of Olympia Agnonese, and unexpected presidents, like Lady Gaga to Parma.

But April fools, of course, they don’t just involve football: in 2015, on the subject of sailing, the (false) news spread that Massimo Moratti had become president of Red Moon. As for F1, someone wrote in 2018 that Hamilton he had got tired of running in a car and would have therefore moved into MotoGPothers that Raikkonen he was tired of running in Ferrariafter an argument with Maranello.

Tennis chapter: the social profile of Australian Open in 2017 he blurted out that the next edition of the Slam it would take place on parquetwhile the Lyon in 2016 he warned his fans that he would dyed the grass blue. If anyone could have believed the idea of ​​the sandwiches to do double-sided stickers (thus solving the problem of duplicates), very few will have fallen into the trap of unlikely twinning.

How real Madrid And Barcelonawhich it is rumored that they intended to join forces to form a cricket team. Or Genoa And Sampdoriawhich according to some would have been ready to form one teamthe «Superba», with half links Red Blue and half blucerchiate. Because even between bitter enemies, April 1st is the best day to do it a laugh together.

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Source: Vanity Fair

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