Sports celebrities hit by coronavirus

ASUNCION: The growing list of world sports celebrities who have been hit by the novel coronavirus includes former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz who died on Saturday aged 76, three days after being hospitalised with the coronavirus.

Former Manchester City, Real Madrid and Togo international forward Emmanuel Adebayor is stuck in quarantine in Benin over the coronavirus pandemic, his Paraguayan club Olimpia said on social media.

The 36-year-old “took the decision to return to his country for the duration of the quarantine period declared by the government” of Paraguay, said Olimpia late on Monday. However, in trying to return home he was put in quarantine in a hotel in the port of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, alongside another 84 travelers, Olimpia said. “His decision was to spend this time with his family,” Olimpia said of Adebayor’s attempts to make the long journey from Paraguay to Togo. Like much Latin America, Paraguay is in partial shutdown and has imposed a nighttime curfew.

The former Togo forward, who also played for Arsenal, Tottenham and Crystal Palace during a decade-long stay in the English Premier League, made a surprise move to the Paraguayan champions in February having left Turks Kayserispor in December.

“It’s like being at home. It doesn’t bother me at all,” Adebayor told reporters on his arrival in Benin, which borders Togo. Adebayor is Togo’s most famous player and scored 32 goals in winning 87 caps, and helped his country qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

In Italy several players at Juventus are infected, including France’s 2018 World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi and Argentinian attacker Paulo Dybala.

Former AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini and his footballer son Daniel announced they were positive Saturday. At Fiorentina, another top Italian club, 10 players are infected. In England, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi have both tested positive.

In 12 days at least 14 players from the NBA have tested positive, including Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant. Most of them have said they are without symptoms according to NBA boss Adam Silver.