‘I do not have a life without football’: Anwar El Ghazi opens up on dealing with Premier League suspension

Dutch-Moroccan winger admits coronavirus pandemic has made him realise how much he needs the sport

Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi admits that the Premier League’s suspension has made him realise how much the sport means to him and that he feels like “he does not have a life without football”.

The 24-year-old, who joined Villa from Lille in 2017, told Dutch publication SportTeKort: “Training has been suspended until next Wednesday, then we will start again in small groups. But for the time being, I’m still at home.

“It really is a very strange feeling. The weirdest feeling I have now is just that I have found out that I really do not have a life without football.

“Normally you get up and then you start training, you are already really busy preparing for the next match… Now I get up and then I go jogging or do some exercises in the garden, but I don’t get up with the idea that we are going to make something of today. That does indicate that football really is my life.”

The Premier League has been suspended until at least 30 April, while The Independent understands clubs are currently exploring the possibility of completing the season behind closed doors.

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Uefa postponed Euro 2020 last Tuesday to give clubs the best possible chance of completing their domestic seasons before 30 June.