Player signing videos are getting more elaborate these days… and some should come with personal health warnings.
This summer alone, Matthijs de Ligt stood in a river when Bayern announced his transfer, while Burnley made a Generation Game-style clip when Nathan Tella joined.
Love Island fans rejoiced when Charlton revealed Mandela Egbo’s signing.
Things got a little more perilous for Diego Costa when he posed with real wolves when Wolves [the football club] announced his signing.
He wasn’t really a fan of it, revealing he was “scared to death” during filming.
Now things may have gone a bit too far when Emirati club Sharjah signed ‘Greek Warrior’ Kostas Manolas.
There wasn’t much of a warrior in his reaction to filming their signature video when he had to pose next to a lion.
The lion then jumped forward a bit and growled, and it’s fair to say that Manolas got pissed off. To be fair, most of us would have.
He rushed to get a “cautionary” tape, which, let’s be honest, won’t do much against a lion…
The 31-year-old defender was previously a target for Manchester United in 2019 and played for AEK Athens, Olympiacos, Roma and Napoli.
Manolas’ most famous moment came in the Champions League when he scored Roma’s third goal in a 3-0 win over Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico.
It gave them a 4-4 draw with the Spaniards, seeing the Italians win on away goals, and inspired some incredible commentary from Peter Drury.
He said: “The Roma have risen from their ruins… Manolas the Greek god in Rome. The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes…
“He is a Greek from Mount Olympus who came to the seven hills of Rome and performed a miracle.”
Manolas will join Miralem Pjanic and Paco Alcacer in the United Arab Emirates kit.
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