Topics: Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid, La Liga, Athletic Bilbao
As Real Madrid cruised to a relatively straightforward 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao, a fan inside the San Mamés stadium could be seen tucking into Carlo Ancelotti's chewing gum.
That's right. On Sunday night, after Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Los Blancos in the first-half, Ancelotti was hanging around the dugout when TikTok user babaychou in the stands asked for a treat.
The Italian, who chews through at least 13 gums per game, delivered the goods and handed the fan not one, but two pieces before heading over to the touchline.
One fan commented on the clip, saying: "Don Carlo is such a cool guy. Totally love him," while another wrote: "This is amazing."
So why does Ancelotti go through so many chewing gums? According to the guys over at Rising Ballers, the former Juventus and AC Milan manager used to get nervous during games.
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As a result, Ancelotti would smoke cigarettes to reduce his anxiety.
But smoking was later banned from stadiums, so the Italian had to figure out a way to help him combat the nerves, so he substituted cigarettes with gum.
When asked what kind of gum he prefers, Ancelotti said back in 2015: "The same as Carlos Carbajosa [the club's press conference chief]. I eat 13 or 14 a game, it's outrageous."
When it comes to the subject of chewing gum, it's hard to forget about Sir Alex Ferguson's obsession with the sweet treat.
If Manchester United were losing, Fergie would try and reduce his stress levels by aggressively chewing through a handful of gums.
It was an iconic feature of his time in management. In fact, ahead of his final game as United manager - the first ever 5-5 draw in Premier League history against West Brom at the Hawthorns in 2013 – Fergie was handed a pack of chuddies by West Brom's mascot as a gift.
After the final whistle, his last ever chewing gum was then picked up by a fan, who would later auction the item on eBay.
The description read: "Used chewing gum: RARE. Recovered from The Hawthorns. Clear Perspex/wooden case. Unofficial merchandise, rumored to belong to Sir Alex. After 1,500 games of intense chewing as manager of Man Utd, here lies Fergie's last piece of chewing gum. All proceeds go to the MU Foundation charity."
Eventually, after numerous bids, Ferguson's last gum was snapped up for £390,000, with the full amount going to charity.
