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Messi, HlebIMAGO / Cordon Press/Diario AS
Nino Duit

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"Alcohol in a Gatorade bottle": Shocking revelation about FC Barcelona's triple-winning player

LaLiga
Barcelona
A. Hleb

Aleksandr Hleb had a disappointing spell at FC Barcelona. As a former teammate has now revealed, the Belarusian football icon turned to alcohol to take his mind off things – even on the pitch.

In the Montiliving podcast, Albert Dalmau talks about FC Barcelona’s pre-season preparations in the summer of 2009. As a 17-year-old prospect, Dalmau was allowed to train with the first team at the time. What particularly stuck in his memory was Aleksandr Hleb’s choice of drink. “The typical Gatorade bottle did indeed contain Gatorade, but he had also added a bit of alcohol,” Dalmau reported.

  • Hleb had joined Barcelona from Arsenal a year earlier for €17 million. Under manager Pep Guardiola, the then 28-year-old midfielder won the treble with the legendary team led by superstar Lionel Messi, but he himself never progressed beyond the role of a substitute. In 36 appearances for Barca, Hleb played 1,687 minutes and recorded three assists. He was not in the squad for the Champions League final against Manchester United. 

    Rumours about his alcohol problems have been circulating for some time. “Hleb could have achieved more in football. He’s had a great career, but he also enjoyed a drink,” Wojciech Szczesny once told the Polish YouTube channel Foot Truck. Hleb and Szczesny once played together for Arsenal; like Hleb, Szczesny also ended up at Barcelona years later.

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  • Aleksandr Hleb returned to VfB Stuttgart in 2009

    Shortly after that training camp, Hleb returned on loan to VfB Stuttgart, where he had made his big breakthrough between 2000 and 2005. During his second spell in Stuttgart, however, he failed to live up to expectations. Further loan spells followed at Birmingham City and VfL Wolfsburg. In early 2012, his contract with Barça was terminated by mutual consent, after which he moved to KS Samara in Russia on a free transfer. Following spells in Turkey and his native Belarus, he ended his playing career in 2020. 

    Despite all the difficulties, Hleb is regarded as the best footballer in the history of Belarus. Dalmau, then a Barca prospect, missed his big breakthrough and played in the lower leagues until the end of his career in 2023.

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