9 of football’s most hardcore gamers: Sancho, Neymar, Ozil…

Jadon Sancho has come under criticism for spending too much time playing FIFA on his Xbox – but he's far from the first footballer to spend his downtime unwinding with a controller in hand.

From Fortnite to FIFA, tons of today's top professionals spend hours playing video games, with some even having their own streaming channels and custom-built set-ups. If this is what managers have to worry about, we've certainly come on a long way from the days of footballers sinking pints and smoking tabs in their free time.

Here are nine players who are particularly known for their love of gaming.

“Even during Sancho's time in Dortmund, his discipline was always a topic of discussion internally,” claims a recent report from German outlet Bild.

“He was often late for training and after the games he often flew away in a private jet for a day or two.

“But the biggest problem, which the bosses still believe, is that Sancho doesn't sleep enough because he often plays on the console or computer at night until the early hours of the morning. A lifestyle that doesn't fit the working-class mentality in the Ruhr area at all.”

Disciplinary issues have reared their head once again at Manchester United – and there are suggestions that late nights up gaming are part of the problem that's seen Sancho banished from first-team training by Erik ten Hag.

Sancho was said to have been online playing FIFA Pro Clubs during the Red Devils' recent Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, while he was also seen playing the new EA Sports FC 24 in the dead of night earlier this week.

The French winger has enjoyed a real resurgence these past couple of years. He enjoyed his best spell of form at Barcelona during his final 18 months at the club and has made a bright