Live Updates - Coronavirus in Football: Who all are infected?

In light of the outbreak, all football activities are shut in most parts of the world.

In the midst of the busy footballing action that engrossed us throughout the calendar year, a pandemic has put a stop-over all of it. It is a time when the sport has entered a really gloomy and dark phase, with no certainty of when it would resume again.

The situation around coronavirus is worsening on a daily basis and it has become necessary to bring the most recent updates about the individuals in the footballing world. Here, we will brief you about the people who are associated with the footballing circuit and have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, that has brought a halt to most of the major football tournaments across the world.

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List of people infected with Coronavirus: [Updated on 14th April- 1 PM GMT]

April 14- Juventus have made it official that both Daniel Rugani and Blaise Matuidi have recovered from COVID-19. They released a statement which read, "Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi underwent, as per protocol, a double check with diagnostic tests (swabs) for the Coronavirus-Covid 19. The tests came back with negative results. The players have, therefore, recovered and are no longer subjected to the home isolation regime." Rugani was in fact amongst one of the first prominent European footballers to have tested positive for the virus.

April 6 - Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola's mother has passed away after contracting coronavirus. Dolors Sala Cairro was aged 82 years old. The Premier League's defending champions released a statement. They said, "The Manchester City family are devastated to repoet the death today of Pep's mother Dolors Sala Carrio in Maresa, Barcelona after contracting coronavirus. She was 82-year-old. Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends."

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March 22- Paulo Dybala: The Argentine Juventus forward confirmed that he and his girlfriend Oriana have tested positive for coronavirus. Earlier, Dybala had denied having contracted the same.

March 22- Marouane Fellaini: The former Manchester United midfielder confessed that he got the tests done and accordingly the results turned out to be positive. Fellaini said that he will follow the treatment and return to the game as soon as possible.

March 21- AC Milan director Paulo Maldini and his 18-year-old son Daniel have tested positive. However, the club's statement suggested that they 'are well.' They have been in self-isolation since two weeks and would remain in quarantine until they are clinically recovered.

March 21- Lorenzo Sanz: Lorenzo Sanz was a former Real Madrid president as he passed away on Sunday due to coronavirus. The 76-year-old was at the helm of Los Blancos from 1995-2000 and the club had won their seventh and eighth Champions League titles in that time period.

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Before March 20th:

Charlie Austin: The West Bromwich Albion striker confirmed to be on the recovery track now after having shown symptoms of contracting the coronavirus. He advised the people to take this issue seriously. Austin had cold sweats and his body temperature spiked up to even 39.7 degrees Celsius.

Valencia: The Spanish club has confirmed that 35% of all tests taken for coronavirus amongst the staff and players have resulted positive. Earlier, the club had reported that Ezequiel Garay and Eliaquim Mangala had contracted the virus. The club said that those people who have been infected have currently isolated themselves at their home and receiving medical assessment.

Jorge Jesus: Brazilian club Flamengo announced that their 65-year-old head coach Jorge Jesus had caught coronavirus too.

In a post that he put on Instagram, Jorge said, “Hello. Good afternoon in Brazil, good night in Portugal. True, my test was positive," he said. "It is also true that I feel normal, I am feeling exactly as I felt a month ago, a year ago, two, three, four ... I am normal. I don't feel any symptoms. But I had a positive test. I'll be in reclusion. I want to thank the affection of my friends and the fans of Flamengo for sharing this situation with me. I think that in a few days everything will be back to normal, God willing. A big kiss to everyone. I am very confident.”

However, in a major development later on, the club announced on Twitter confirmed that Jorge’s further results had resulted negative. They tweeted, “Flamengo inform the new exam carried out by coach Jorge Jesus confirmed a negative result for COVID-19. The club are grateful for the support of the entire Red-Black Nation to the Mister in the last days.”

Francisco Garcia: Francisco Garcia was a 21-year-old youth team coach in Spain who died due to coronavirus. He was also suffering from leukaemia. Garcia coached at Atletico Portada Alta and it is believed that he received the diagnosis of his cancer after he went to the hospital to check his symptoms of coronavirus.

The English Premier League’s suspension has been extended until the 30th of April, whereas the cut-off date for the campaign to be completed has been pushed back ‘indefinitely’. On the other hand, the English Football League has announced a £50m relief package for the clubs who are undergoing monetary issues as the football season has been put on a break. Read more about the impact, here.

Before March 15th:

Manolo Gabbiadini: Gabbiadini, the former Southampton forward, has contracted Coronavirus and is a part of multiple footballers representing Sampdoria who have tested positive and might go through possible treatment to recover completely from COVID-19.

The other players include: Morten Thorsbey, Fabio Depoli, Albin Ekdal, Bartos Bereszynski and Omar Colley. The virus has created havoc in Italy and it can be witnessed in their footballing circuit too with a couple of Fiorentina players named Patrick Cutrone and German Pezzella also having contracted coronavirus.

Along with that, Sampdoria’s club doctor Amedeo Baldari has also picked up the pandemic. Initially, the matches were supposed to be played behind closed doors but now the Serie A has been suspended until early next month. However, considering the current situation that is existent in the country, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the competition isn't resumed later on either. Presently, football must be on the very bottom of the priority list of the people heading the nation and rightly so too.

Mikel Arteta: The Arsenal manager was diagnosed with the virus and as a result, the entire Gunners squad was put into quarantine and their then-immediate upcoming match against Brighton & Hove Albion was also suspended.

Artur Boruc: The 40-year-old AFC Bournemouth goalkeeper is isolating himself after showing symptoms that indicate of coronavirus. A statement from the club read, “AFC Bournemouth can confirm that five of its employees are currently self-isolating, having displayed symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Goalkeeper Artur Boruc, along with four first-team members of staff, are self-isolating in line with Government and Public Health guidelines. This is a precautionary measure as, at this stage, none have tested positive for Coronavirus.”

One of the players from Real Madrid’s basketball team had tested positive and hence even the entire football squad and the staff was put on quarantine. Both the teams practice and share the same facilities and hence it was crucial to ensure that the individuals involved underwent the advised process to come out safe. FC Barcelona, Real Madrid’s arch-rivals, suspended their training and other activities too.  

Leicester City: Whilst there are no confirmed cases yet, Brendan Rodgers confirmed that three players showed symptoms of having contracted the disease. Hence, those footballers were kept in self-isolation as a precautionary measure.

Everton: Carlo Ancelotti called for football to be suspended as a player from Everton’s squad went on isolation after showing signals consistent with COVID-19. The entire squad was asked to stay away from the club’s workplaces too. However, Ancelotti also said that the concerned player’s temperature had dipped.

Callum Hudson-Odoi: The Chelsea starlet had tested positive too but he soon recovered and put out a video message saying he is undergoing self-isolation and following the due procedure.

Bundesliga: Two Hannover players, Jannes Horn and Timo Hubers were diagnosed with the virus. The club spoke out on this issue by remarking, “With Jannes Horn, another player has tested positive for the virus. All other test results were negative.”

20-year-old Luca Kilian, who plays for SC Paderborn 07 had become the first player in the Bundesliga to catch the disease. Paderborn stated, “After the all-clear for head coach Steffen Baumgart, central defender Luca Kilian, who has not been used for a few weeks due to an injury, has tested positive. In close coordination with the local authorities, the SCP07 will take extensive measures to contain the coronavirus. Tomorrow, Saturday, the players and all members of the functional team will undergo a coronavirus test.”

Blaise Matuidi: Juventus confirmed that their French midfielder Blaise Matuidi has tested positive for coronavirus and is in voluntary isolation since March 11. Further details on the health of the World Cup-winning player are still to be received.

Daniele Rugani: The Juventus defender was confirmed to have contracted the virus after the Old Lady’s victory against Inter Milan. He is possibly the first high-profile Italian footballer to be affected by COVID-19 amidst the country being on a lockdown.

Kylian Mbappe: Mbappe apparently underwent a test for COVID-19 but fortunately the results turned out to be negative and he went on to play in the Round of 16 encounter against Borussia Dortmund.

Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese star is staying back at his hometown in Madeira to ensure that he is not affected by the virus. He was last seen attending the El Classico in the wake of the chaos that has been prevalent in Italy due to the same.

Additionally, Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was confirmed to have coronavirus too. Also, Marinakis was said to have interacted with plenty of Arsenal players during Olympiakos’ Europa League encounter against them. Accordingly, the midweek scheduled match between Arsenal and Manchester City was postponed as a precautionary measure.