When it comes to maverick footballers, you don’t get much better than Faustino Asprilla.
The iconic striker, who represented Parma and Newcastle in the 1990s, recently offered to help in the fight against coronavirus by donating one million condoms from his contraceptive company.
Asprilla was a popular figure with fans wherever he went and Tyneside was no exception – with the St James’ Park faithful unlikely to forget his brilliant hat-trick against Barcelona in a hurry.
And legendary former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, who played alongside Asprilla in his early career days at Parma, recently detailed another colourful anecdote from the Colombian’s exotic career in football.
The World Cup winner revealed the cheeky way Asprilla used to avoid paying up when he was branded with a fine.
“I joined Parma when I was very young and the team back then really did play to win,” Cannavaro told Sky Sport Italia.
“I remember that Lorenzo Minotti, as captain, would write down all the fines that players had to pay for things they’d done wrong.
“When it was Asprilla’s turn to pay up, he stood up and ate the piece of paper with the list of fines.”
Asprilla had a hugely successful time in two spells with the Serie A club, appearing 150 times and helping them to glory in two UEFA Cups, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, one European Super Cup and one Coppa Italia.
He also played a key role for Kevin Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’, who were agonisingly pipped to the Premier League crown by Manchester United in the 1995–96 season.