Whilst most of the country logs off over the Christmas period, footballers are among those that carry on.
But what do these stars think about festive work, and what is it like to train on Christmas day? Well, one ex-Premier League player has lifted the lid.
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Berbatov knows all about being a footballer at Christmas timeCredit: GETTY
Dimitar Berbatov spent eight years in England’s top flight, first with Tottenham, then Manchester United and finally Fulham between 2006 and 2014.
During that time, the Bulgarian spent many a Christmas training in England before Boxing Day.
It’s no surprise then that he has some hilarious stories to tell – including ones about legendary Man United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson.
While spending Christmas at Carrington, Berbatov explained that the club had numerous festive activities they would do every year to bring everyone together – although he wasn’t too sure on some of them.
“We had lots of traditions at United,” he told Betfair. “Sir Alex Ferguson and the staff would get all the players together and serve us Christmas dinner. We had banter, jokes, a cracking time.
“An English Christmas dinner was a new experience for me. There was plenty of food, although it wasn’t all to my taste to be honest.
“You had a menu prepared by the chef. Normally it was roasted potatoes, turkey, some other vegetables and salad. We never had pigs in blankets! You ate and took the p*** out of the staff. Never the boss though!
“It was great fun and a wonderful moment to show camaraderie. It built the team spirit. I loved it.”
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Sir Alex Ferguson loved the academy pantoCredit: Getty
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His stars were often the brunt of the jokesCredit: Getty
But it wasn’t just Man United’s first team stars that would get involved in the festivities either.
It turns out the youth sides would also take part and, according to Berbatov, you had to make sure you could hack the banter the starlets would dish out.
Rio Ferdinand reveals Sir Alex Ferguson hammered Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney for not passing to Robin Van Persie at Manchester United
Nobody was safe, not even Cristiano Ronaldo.
He continued: “The other tradition was that, after you had your lunch with the boss and staff, the academy players put on a bit of a show.
“They would make fun of the first-team players. They’d pretend to be one of us or show us what some of us were doing on the pitch or the way we spoke – it was so fun. You needed thick skin to watch yourself being played by someone else. It was great.
“They took the p*** out of everyone: me, Wazza [Wayne Rooney], [Cristiano] Ronaldo, Rio [Ferdinand]. You need moments like this, for someone to humble you because you knew it was just fun.”
We’d loved to have been a fly on the wall for that one!
Fast forward to Christmas 2023, Man United will be prepping to face Aston Villa on Boxing Day this year, live on talkSPORT.
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