Jesse Lingard and John Stones are teammates for country, but bitter rivals on the club level, and the two footballers have come together this international break. The pair are definitely enjoying their time in the United Arab Emirates, spending some time hanging out with big cats and one very talented chimpanzee at the Dubai zoo.
Lingard is one of seven United players who are missing out on international duty this time due to injury. He donned traditional Middle Eastern garb to visit the zoo, and pose with a fierce, roaring lion. Later he spent time with a very talented chimpanzee, where he was joined by a dressed in shorts and a t-shirt John Stones.
John Stones and Jesse Lingard spend time with talented chimp https://t.co/adYNPCN0Vj via @VL_solution pic.twitter.com/wwlw2ufBSr
— Mik (@VL_solution) March 23, 2019
From the Samford Crimson:
After walking around the park, the pair popped inside the tent for the highlight of the trip – a chimp performing tricks.
After they greeted it with a pat on the back, it jumped on a stool to eat. Lingard, 26, even seemed to kiss the ape – perhaps in gratitude for the privileged show they were getting. Then the chimp did several spins and appeared to dance.
Stories and experiences like these are exactly what international breaks and down time for club teams are all about.
After all, who doesn’t love cute, intelligent animals?
When United went on their warm weather training trip to Dubai in January of 2018, Lingard again interacted big cats. Both he and Paul Pogba fed a white tiger lion cub from the bottle.
Take a look below:
Both clubs return to action on Saturday when United hosts Watford and City heads to Fulham.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.