David De Gea is a name that is familiar to anyone interested in world football. The Spanish goalkeeper, famous for his incredible saves in the goal of Manchester United and the Spanish national team, has long earned the status of one of the best goalkeepers of his generation. However, few people know that in addition to football, David has another passion – eSports, in particular the game League of Legends. How do two such different spheres – professional sports and computer games – intertwine in the life of a star, and what makes this story especially interesting?
To understand how football and eSports are related in De Gea’s life, we need to delve a little deeper into his biography. Born in 1990 in Madrid, David showed a huge interest in sports from an early age. His talent in goal was already evident in the youth academy of Atletico Madrid, where he began his professional career. A move to Manchester United in 2011 was a turning point. In more than a decade at the club, he won numerous trophies, including the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup. However, despite the busy schedule of training and matches, De Gea always found time for his hobby – computer games.
LoL is not only popular with millions of players around the world, but is also one of the leading disciplines in eSports, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers to tournaments. At first glance, it seems strange that a professional athlete whose life is connected with physical activity can become interested in eSports. However, if you look closely, there is more in common between football and LoL than it seems.
For David, League of Legends is not just entertainment, but a kind of tool for relaxation and self-improvement. Success in LoL requires the same qualities from a player as playing as a goalkeeper: quick reactions, analytical thinking, strategic planning and the ability to act under pressure. A goalkeeper in football must be ready at any moment to rush for the ball, change his position or assess the trajectory of a shot. In LoL, these same skills are used to dodge attacks from opponents, correctly position and control the hero. As in football, success in League of Legends is impossible without the coordinated work of the whole team. De Gea, who is used to coordinating the defense on the field, transfers these skills to the game, where it is necessary to competently Football and LoL are united by a strategic approach. David often mentions that he is interested in analyzing matches, be it football games or eSports tournaments. His interest in tactical details helps him better understand not only his role on the field, but also in the virtual space of Summoner’s Rift.
Unsurprisingly, De Gea’s interest in League of Legends has made him part of the esports community. Although he rarely talks publicly about his gaming sessions, David is known to play LoL under a nickname, which he tries to keep secret to avoid unnecessary attention. According to friends and colleagues, he has reached a very decent level in the game and even participates in unofficial matches with other professional athletes. In 2020, when football was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many athletes began to actively. David De Gea also took part in several charity streams while playing League of Legends, which attracted the attention of esports fans. David’s interest in LoL is not an isolated case. Many professional footballers are into video games. Antoine Griezmann, Sergio Aguero and even Neymar have all repeatedly confessed their love for various games, be it FIFA, Fortnite or LoL. For athletes, games become a way to escape from intense training and relax in an informal setting. In addition, video games help to establish a connection with fans. Through streaming platforms like Twitch, footballers can communicate with their audience, show another side of their personality and strengthen their popularity.