«Two gay players in the Premier League ready to come out. Nice if in Qatar »- Corriere.it

The former striker – among others – of Tottenham and Barcelona has always paid particular attention to the LGBTQ + community, supporting their battles: “Think what would happen if they chose that moment …” he says almost provocatively, considering that in Qatar, being gay is considered a real crime, punishable by up to 7 years of imprisonment. Lineker, however, preferred (obviously) not to reveal the identities of the two players in question, underlining how «maybe they are worried about what their teammates would think of them, even if they probably already know. And the fans: they contest anyway, so any insult taken by an opposing fan must become a compliment. There are so many players who live their life as a lie, and I’m sure it’s really hard for them. But from what we have seen so far, the reactions to such a statement would be incredibly positive. ”

Finally, a digression on what it would entail to come out for the two players (and for the whole movement) also economically: “Thinking like an agent, in terms of market and income, it would be enormous to have the first openly gay football star: he would become the perfect testimonial. I would definitely advise him to be the first to come out ».