Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford has revealed the surprising thing that footballers have to pay for that fans might not expect.
Bamford is part of the Leeds side that will no doubt be aiming for promotion to the Premier League this season, after being beaten by Southampton in the Championship play-off final last term.
The striker came through the ranks at Nottingham Forest before moving to Chelsea in 2012. After several loan moves as a youngster, he signed for Middlesbrough in 2017. He then moved to Leeds the following year, and has gone to make 191 appearances for the Yorkshire club.
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Of course, being a footballer comes with certain requirements. Optimal nutrition is non-negotiable for all top-level professionals. But the price of food at football clubs is a subject shrouded in mystery. You may be thinking, 'Do footballers pay for their food, or is this included in their contract?'
This is likely different depending on each club, but Bamford revealed the situation at Leeds' Thorp Arch training ground.
The Englishman was speaking on BBC Sounds' 'My Mate's a Footballer podcast' when he was asked how many meals he had on a normal training day.
"Two," Bamford replied.
The host, comedian Joe Wilkinson, then assumed they were free meals. But Bamford batted off this suggestion.
"No, we pay for them, it gets deducted from your salary," he explained.
He then continued to explain the cost of the meals to the surprise of Wilkinson.
"I'm going to say £3.50 a day. This might be miles off," the 31-year-old added.
Most top players take their eating habits very seriously and employ chefs to keep them up to speed during the season. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne even paid for chef Jonny Marsh to cook for his family during the Christmas period in 2016.
"It got to the second or third of January, and we really got on, he really liked the food, and everyone seemed to love it," he told talkSPORT.
"I cooked for like 18 people a day for two weeks - it was wild numbers."
Players' choices of food seem to be a trending topic at the moment. Earlier this week, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes aimed a dig at British cuisine.
“I'm in my country, I speak my language, and I have better food,” he said while on international duty with Portugal.
In November 2022, in an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, Cristiano Ronaldo criticised the level of the food at United.
“Nothing changed [since leaving in 2009], surprisingly,” he said.
“Not only the pool, the jacuzzi, even the gym. Even the kitchen, the chefs, whom I appreciate - lovely people. They stopped in time. It surprised me a lot.”
Topics: Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Leeds United, Patrick Bamford, Football, EFL Championship
Luke Davies