One might think that being teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo, possibly the most well-coiffed and waxed soccer player on Earth, would teach you a thing or two about staying safe while staying hairless. Alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Real Madrid midfielder Marco Asensio, who will sit out the team’s Champions League opener against Apoel Nicosia on Wednesday because of an injury he apparently sustained from shaving his legs.
Real Madrid Manager Zinedine Zidane said in a news conference (via ESPN FC) this week that Asensio has a painful “pimple” on his leg that “has stopped him from pulling up his socks.”
Spanish media later clarified the situation, noting the injury is an infected hair follicle, which the 21-year-old sustained while shaving his legs.
“For that reason, and considering the weakness of the opponent, [Zidane] prefers to rest Asensio so that he can concentrate on next Sunday’s important match at Anoeta [against Real Sociedad],” Spain’s ABC reported Wednesday.
Former English star Gary Lineker, now a broadcaster at BBC Sport, later tweeted the news, adding that it’s likely Asensio could have avoided this injury had Asensio waxed, as Lineker said he did when he used to play.
Of course, this brings up the question: Why do pro soccer stars remove their leg hair anyway?
Saint Louis FC player Matt Sheldon, who admitted to preferring hairless legs, has some answers.
“There are three valid reasons why soccer players shave their legs,” he presciently said this week in a YouTube video he posted for fans.
The first, he said, is to make leg massages, which most pro players get at least a couple of times a week, more comfortable.
“No matter what kind of lotion or gel or lubrication they use on your legs … it really pulls your hair,” he said.
The second reason, he added, also pertains to comfort.
“We’re taping up our ankles, we’re taping up parts of our legs that are injured, your knees, or whatever … so a lot of soccer players like to at least shave their ankles just so that hair doesn’t pull when you’re being taped or taking that tape off of you,” he said.
Finally, and Sheldon admits this is why most soccer players prefer their legs hairless, “they just like the way it looks.”
“A lot of soccer players have very muscular legs, and if you shave down your hair that definition pops a little bit more,” he said. “Yes, I know, make fun of me, make fun of anybody, make fun of soccer players in general, but that is the reason.”
Asensio has not publicly commented on the situation, but it looks like he is handling his layoff okay. He and his hairless legs have been binge-watching “Narcos” on Netflix.
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