by When Karim Benzema began playing the best football of his life in his mid-30s (he won the Ballon d’Or at 34), he attributed part of his success to putting the great chef Alberto Mastromatteo in charge of his diet.
Now Mastromatteo, through his company Summumm, advises Jude Bellingham as the English midfielder sweeps La Liga with 13 goals in 14 games. Sports Mail spoke to one of football’s leading nutrition gurus.
Competitive sport is all about the finest margins and Mastromatteo believes footballers are slowly waking up to the idea that diet can be another tool in the battle to be the best.
“It is the great forgotten aspect in the world of football,” he says. “In Europe we still have to improve this a lot if we compare it with what is already happening in the United States.”
However, things are changing and he believes around 70 per cent of top players now have their own chefs.
Jude Bellingham has had a great start at Real Madrid, scoring 13 goals in 14 games.
Part of his success could be attributed to working with one of football’s leading nutrition gurus, Alberto Mastromatteo (pictured).
Karim Benzema attributes part of his success to having put Mastromatteo at the forefront of his diet
Chef Summumm of Bellingham lives there and prepares the food that the company run by Mastromatteo has selected for him based on a rigorous biometric study that analyzes what best suits his needs.
“Jude and his family wanted to keep this aspect under control from the beginning,” says Mastromatteo.
‘He has great people around him. He is very focused and knows what it means to be at Real Madrid. He knows what he wants and is doing everything he can to make it the best he can.’
Every player is different and Mastromatteo has a professional responsibility not to discuss his clients’ personal recommendations in detail, but instead outlines general guidelines that all high-level athletes should follow.
Rice, oats, quinoa, fresh vegetables, fish and some lean meat are the basic foods of a high-level athlete and he states: “Saturated fats, which are not, let’s say, healthy fats, as is the case with omega 3 from salmon o Avocados are not usually good for your health.
The surprising thing is that nothing is completely off-limits and Mastromatteo says players need a day off from their strict regimes, otherwise it becomes too much.
‘From the ages of 18 to 32, it is necessary for a professional to have one day a week to forget about everything and relax and maybe eat a hamburger or a pizza or whatever they feel like.
Mastromatteo (left) regularly appears on Instagram alongside football’s biggest stars (Antoine Griezmann, right)
The chef has been heavily involved with Real Madrid, working with players such as Benzema, Bellingham and Antonio Rudiger (left, with Mastromatteo)
He has cooked for some of the biggest names past and present, including Luis Figo.
‘In the world of cycling, for example, this is not so appropriate. But in the world of football these players are under significant pressure. And these types of things help them to disconnect a little and relax mentally. You can’t have diet, diet, diet every day. In the end they get bored.”
But one day off a week (usually rest days after a game) cannot translate into forgetting the importance of diet for an entire summer.
“The holidays are the hardest part,” he says. “That’s when everything can go wrong. But there are players who take their chefs with them. Eduardo [Camavinga, another client] for example, he took his this summer.
‘Some footballers are their worst enemies. They don’t have that drive and people around them can lead them astray. Others say: “my friends go one way but I am going to work with professionals who know these things.” They invest in their own health.’
Bellingham (pictured in 2019) now follows Mastromateo’s guidelines with rice, oats, quinoa, fresh vegetables, fish and some lean meat as tiers of an athlete’s diet.
Mastromatteo, however, says that it is necessary for professionals to have one day a week to “forget about everything and relax and maybe eat a hamburger or a pizza or whatever they feel like.”
Clubs often recommend the services of companies like Summumm, but in the end it is the player who pays. ‘We have a health package that includes a mindset coaching service, a nutrition service, a chef service, a physio service and a personal trainer service,’ he says. “Is very complete”.
Mastromatteo is not evangelical, although perhaps a little at the mention of Spirulina, the algae-derived protein supplement that helped Benzema. ‘I’m a big fan; “He would recommend it to everyone,” he says.
‘Karim’s problem was a [muscle] fiber problem for which one would normally focus on animal protein intake, but he was not a fan of meat, so spirulina, in addition to promoting intestinal health, was a food source that supplied energy and was easier for your gut to metabolize.
A lot has changed since every footballer’s favorite food was steak and chips. Nothing in the world of nutrition and diet is the same anymore and high-level athletes are moving away from more traditional habits in an attempt to improve performance. Where Benzema leads, Bellingham now follows.
