Marcos Llorente’s interview completes his transformation into the Spanish Le Tissier
Marcos Llorente is known to English fans as one of Diego Simeone’s no-nonsense lieutenants at Atletico Madrid. In Spain, he is one of the country’s most high-profile conspiracy theorists.
During the current international break, Llorente has spoken about several of his held beliefs to the Spanish media.
Indeed, even RFEF – Spain’s equivalent of the FA – have a feature on some of his quirks, tapping into something they don’t quite understand except how it delivers clicks.
One of the less controversial of Llorente’s practices is using red light. The 30-year-old has explained it’s the only colour of light he uses at home.
The idea is that it more closely mimics colours outdoors and blocks out blue light from technology.
But, at Spain’s training camp this week and during media interviews, Llorente has been wearing glasses with yellow lenses.
“Yellow-tinted glasses are for when you’re indoors during the day; outside, you never need to wear glasses of any kind because the sun’s rays should hit your eyes and skin without anything interfering,” the player is quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo.
“And glasses with red lenses filter out the blue light from lamps, televisions, and cell phones, allowing only the red light to pass through.”
Refusing to wear sunglasses in a city like Madrid is usually asking for trouble. But Llorente also got into controversy in Spain last year for pushing the idea of sunbathing without sunscreen.
And his latest foray into the world of make-believe has seen him raise his eyes to the sky. Without sunglasses, of course.
“I look at the sky and I’ve never seen this before,” Llorente told reporters. “A trail of 40 contrails blocking out the sun and generating clouds isn’t normal.
“I’m trying to convey this, and although many people say it’s water vapour, what’s happening isn’t normal and should be explained.”
As per Spanish publication Marca, the 30-year-old has previously posted a video on his Instagram page showing several plane trails, which was accompanied by the caption: “Enough is enough.”
There is no evidence that contrails cause health problems.
At the altitude where contrails are produced, the oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter, which can cause respiratory problems become dispersed, as per Gov.uk.
Chemtrail theories, such as those supported by Llorente, argue without any scientific basis that contrails are not contrails, but deliberate spraying of ideological chemicals for ulterior motives.
This conspiracy theory began decades ago, but has been enhanced by the internet, especially during the pandemic.
Llorente often prefers discussing health over football – he is a keen follower of the Paleo diet, inspired by the presumed eating habits of early hunter-gatherers, which avoids grains, legumes and dairy.
“People should spend as many hours as possible outdoors, enjoying the sun,” he has previously explained.
“I get up early, go out to my garden, wait for sunrise, and then make my coffee, adding two or three spoonfuls of butter.”
His social media followers are familiar with many of his habits, including ‘grounding’ – walking barefoot on natural surfaces each morning to strengthen the feet and potentially prevent injuries.
But an article in The Guardian in 2023 linked an obsession with wellness to a propensity to believe conspiracy theories online.
Llorente’s focus on his own health is relatively harmless. Spreading discredited conspiracy theories on international duty is another matter entirely.
By Michael Lee
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