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Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent
Former Chelsea and Actual Madrid ahead Eden Hazard will lace up his boots as soon as once more to take part within the Kings World Cup, on account of be held in Mexico later this 12 months, it was revealed on Monday.
Rio Ferdinand can even participate within the seven-a-side event, which already entails Zlatan Ibrahimović and Neymar, amongst others, though the ex-Manchester United defender’s participation shall be because the co-president of one of many groups alongside content material creator Jeremy Lynch.
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Hazard and Ferdinand grow to be the most recent star names to enrol within the Kings League, the competitors launched by former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué in Spain at the beginning of 2023.
Along with the league in Spain — which counts on Sergio Aguëro and Iker Casillas as presidents — a second competitors, the Américas Kings League, lately began in Mexico that includes streamers, content material creators and footballers from throughout South America.
The Kings World Cup will deliver these two competitions collectively as a part of a 32-team event which can even function 12 wildcard groups from across the globe, with the winners incomes a $1 million money prize. It will likely be performed in Mexico between Could 26 and June 8.
Hazard, 33, introduced his shock early retirement from soccer final 12 months after 4 injury-hit seasons at Actual Madrid, who signed him from Chelsea for over €100m in 2019.
The 126-time Belgium worldwide turned down affords to extend his profession, however has agreed to participate within the Kings World Cup as a participant for Deptostra FC, a crew ran by the Belgian streamer Céline Dept.
Ferdinand, in the meantime, will enter his personal crew known as 5 FC and preside over it with Lynch, whose YouTube channel boasts over 11 million subscribers.
It was beforehand revealed that Neymar can even part-own one of many two Brazilian groups concerned, Furia FC, whereas Mario Götze, who scored the profitable purpose for Germany within the 2014 World Cup, will oversee Youniors FC together with German TikTok sensation Younes Zarou.
Ibrahimović, who performed for a few of Europe’s greatest golf equipment throughout 24 years as knowledgeable, was unveiled because the president of the Kings World Cup at the start of March.
The mission is led by Piqué and appears to mix the very best of soccer with video game-style guidelines in 40-minute, seven-a-side matches. There are intervals when targets depend double and quick sections of the sport when a cube is rolled to find out what number of gamers needs to be faraway from all sides.
Groups are typically made up of beginner or semi-professional gamers, however the presidents of the groups even have the prospect to usher in ringers. Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko have all featured prior to now, whereas Aguëro, compelled to retire prematurely on account of a coronary heart downside, typically performs for his crew, Kunisports.