Here's How Football Stars Enjoyed The Season Break [PHOTOS]

Here's How Football Stars Enjoyed The Season Break [PHOTOS]

July 31,2019



 

Cristiano Ronaldo plunging into the sea from a luxury yacht on the French Riviera. Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard relaxing by the pool at a plush Miami hotel. Lionel Messi frolicking in the surf with his family in Antigua.Mo Salah calmly wading through the azure waters on Egypt's Red Sea coast...or was it the Mombasa waters?



The world's leading football players head to the four corners of the Earth when they jet off on their summer holidays. And wherever they go, they expect the very best. For those who work in the exclusive corner of the travel industry dedicated to meeting the needs of superstar footballers, it is a case of sparing no expense and pulling out every stop.

 

"They want to have the best of the best: the best villa, the best car, the best yacht, the best adventure," says Johnny Vegas, CEO and founder of luxury lifestyle concierge firm Kloudout.

 

Vegas felt his way into the luxury concierge industry while working as a casino valet at the Bellagio Hotel in his native Las Vegas. After arranging a break in Vegas for Samir Nasri when he was 21, he became the go-to man for footballers planning trips to the city. His business expanded—Miami, Dubai, Mykonos, Marbella, Ibiza—and he now spends his days crisscrossing the world to look after clients such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Samuel Umtiti, Alexandre Lacazette, Jamaal Lascelles and Ryan Babel.

 

Founded in 2012, Kloudout has multiple partners in the luxury travel sector, including hotels, AirBnBs and villas and firms that supply private jets and yachts. Vegas says the key to making sure things run smoothly for his clients is keeping in close contact with his partners so he knows what is available at all times.

 

"Athletes are always last-minute, so you have to be very patient and very understanding. If they say, 'Hey, I want to go here tomorrow,' it's no problem. They just have to request it. And the greatest thing about them is, they'll pay the money for it. They understand there's no time to bargain or negotiate,"he said.

 

British businessman Alex Cheatle set up concierge service Ten Group in 1998 and says the company now counts "hundreds and hundreds" of professional footballers among its 2 million global members. In his experience, most players are looking for the same kind of thing from their holidays.

 

"They tend to like the extremely posh 'fly and flop' places," Cheatle stated."They're pretty exhausted after the season. They feel like they've hardly seen their families or their girlfriends and they just want to relax. Those with families want to go somewhere quiet and relax: a beach Mandarin Oriental or a Four Seasons."

 

Privacy is naturally a concern for all high-profile footballers. Nabila Richardson, head of marketing for the travel division of lifestyle management company Quintessentially, says her firm will steer players from the front doors of their homes to their hotel rooms without them having to pass by a single gawping bystander.

 

"Privacy and anonymity are key factors for them, along with ensuring that their travel is as easy and seamless as possible through services such as private aviation, direct flights and private transfers," she said.

 

"We will arrange a VIP meet-and-greet, whisking them from the plane door to their hotel, making sure they have complete privacy and are incognito during their trip."

 

At Dubai's Atlantis The Palm, where Harry Kane, David Beckham and John Terry have all stayed in recent years, guests in the resort's seven signature suites benefit from the services of 24-hour private butlers who attend to their every need, making bookings on their behalf and ensuring smooth transitions between activities.

 

Should they wish to dine in privacy, they can have meals from the resort's array of world-renowned restaurants—which include Nobu, Hakkasan and Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen and Bar—delivered to their suites on room service. A peckish footballer can also request for a dedicated hotel chef to rustle up a dish in their in-room kitchen.

 

The modern footballer knows he must keep a close eye on his diet during the summer break and will consult nutritionists at his club about what he should and should not eat before setting off for some close-season sunshine. Some players will even take personal chefs and fitness trainers on holiday with them.

 

"Gone are the days of having four, five or six weeks off before coming back into pre-season training and starting at stage one," says Ed Tooley, a performance nutritionist who has worked with Premier League clubs Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and Norwich City.They want to at least remain fit and healthy throughout.

 

While money is no object for the sport's most famous names, Vegas is keen to stress that not all footballers are obsessed with getting access to the most exclusive hotels and nightspots. For many, after a long, gruelling season, the summer break simply represents an opportunity to have the kind of innocuous fun they don't always have time for back home.

 

"It's not all about clubs and this and that," he said. "They also want to enjoy the moment with their friends. Whether it's a theme park or the movies or water activities—things they normally don't have the opportunity to do. We organise all those things for them."

 

Organising activities for football players is not always a straightforward exercise. Their contracts forbid them from indulging in anything too risky—skiing is one notorious no-no—and sometimes the very destinations they have in mind prove to be problematic.

 

"The first thing we need to do is make sure we're not recommending anywhere that's going to fall foul of their insurance or their club's rules," said Cheatle, whose firm has been arranging holidays for footballers for over 15 years.

 

And that's the just how your soccer stars knock themselves up!