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Since its inception, Fortnite has been much more than a 100-man Battle Royale. It quickly created a niche for itself and started attracting thousands of players.
In the blink of an eye, Fortnite became the hottest topic on the internet thanks to its combat mechanics coupled with creative techniques.
It wasn't long before Fortnite perforated other professional avenues as well. From footballers to musicians, everyone was talking about skins and emotes in the game.
Several professional football players also used Fortnite emotes as their scoring celebration, helping the title permeate far and wide. Players like Neymar Jr., Marco Reus, and Harry Kane have their own skin in the game.
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Neymar Jr., Dele Ali and Harry Kane have also been found streaming Fortnite on several occasions. Neymar has often streamed the BR with Ninja, implying a close connection between the title and the outside world.
Even though several professional football players have found solace in Fortnite in the last couple of years, the following is a list of 5 players who joined the bandwagon before others and created a name for themselves in the virtual world.
Footballers who joined the Fortnite bandwagon
5) Mesut Ozil (Fenerbahçe)
Ozil is a German midfielder who is often termed the Assist King. Known for his agility, creativity and technical skills, Ozil took the football world by storm with Real Madrid.
However, he joined Arsenal soon after, and while he continued to provide insane assists on the field, he started assisting his teammates in Fortnite too.
He once missed a game vs Tottenham Hotspur due to a back injury and it is speculated that the injury came after playing Fortnite for hours. While we don't know the truth behind it, Ozil can be found streaming and has also regularly shared clippings of his game on Instagram.
4) Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona)
He was one of the most promising players when he joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund.
Aside from playing well on the field, Dembélé has been grinding Fortnite for a really long time. There was a rumor that the French international missed a training session with Barcelona because he was playing Fortnite until very late in the morning, which naturally, didn't sit well with management.
3) Dele Ali (Tottenham Hotspur)
Dele Ali has been an icon for youngsters both on and off the field. However, he has come under the radar recently because of his performances, with Jose Mourinho suggesting that the England star is very lazy.
He became even more popular when he started streaming on Twitch, attracting thousands of viewers. However, he took off his shirt once, which is against Twitch's guidelines. Interestingly, the attacking midfielder isn't as regular as he once was, implying that he has been putting more hours on the field.
2) Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona)
This list is incomplete without mentioning the French international who brought Fortnite closer to the football field.
Griezmann has been playing Fortnite for a really long time and even celebrates his goals with the "Take the L" dance from Fortnite.
He did the dance after scoring a goal against Croatia during the World Cup final.
1) Neymar Jr. (Paris Saint Germain)
Neymar Jr. is currently one of the best players in the world, who also spends a great deal of his time behind a PC screen.
Neymar Jr. has also streamed Fortnite with Ninja, with the latter more or less carrying the team.
The Brazilian forward also spent his New Year's Eve playing Fortnite. Neymar also shared glimpses of his gameplay on Instagram while he was injured.
Jose Mourinho thinks Fortnite is a waste of time
The Portuguese veteran recently joined AS Roma from Tottenham Hotspur. However, he faced a similar problem at his new club.
He thinks Fortnite is keeping the players up at night and went on to call the BR a "nightmare."
The video was shared via Roma's official Twitter page and from the looks of it, the former Manchester United manager is highly unimpressed with Epic Games' BR.
At his former club, players like Dele Ali and Harry Kane, among several others, were dedicated to Fortnite. Interestingly, this is the first time that Mourinho has spoken about the effects of video games on players.
