Sports stars Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema entertain their fans amid the coronavirus pandemic by going live on social media.
CONNECT. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have granted their fans access to their lives through Instagram Live. File photos by Josh Albelda/Rappler and by Tony Ashby/AFP
"As competitions are suspended, sportsmen and women are no longer necessarily supervised by the club's press officer," Boris Helleu, an expert on digital strategies in sport, told AFP.One of those who has cracked open his armor on a range of topics is the normally prickly Benzema, who posts videos on YouTube as"Nueve Live" – a play on his shirt number, and has more than 33 million Instagram followers.
Asked about Olivier Giroud, who played center forward when France won the World Cup two years ago, Benzema replied:"Everyone knows the difference between F1 and karting, and I'm F1." Switching from Portuguese to English, Spanish and Italian, the Brazilian double Ballon d'Or winner chatted matily with former teammates as if in a private phone call with an old friend, even though tens of thousands of people were watching.
Contestants included fellow members of the France World Cup team Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele as well as the best known French online combat gamers. In 24 hours shooting virtual guns, they raised $31,600 for Red Cross.
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