After Eden Fines revealed she is in a new relationship with a 27-year-old Norwegian soccer player, we decided to dig in and find out more about the man who charmed the Israeli model.
Read more:
Mathias Normann signed with FC Rostov, a Russian team, in August 2021, after being acquired from Brighton & Hove Albion FC, an English club. However, he was loaned back to another English club, Norwich City F.C.
In June 2022, his loan period in England ended, and he returned to Rostov. At that time, the war between Russia and Ukraine was already in full swing (although the league was on summer break), and Norway was waiting to see if he would stay in Russia or move to another team. On September 1, 2022, when the summer transfer window ended in his home country, and after he decided to remain in Russia, he was not included in the national team squad.
"I think it was a completely wrong choice [to go to Russia]," Norwegian national team coach, Ståle Solbakken, told sports journalists. "There are consequences to it. We'll see if Mathias returns to the Norwegian national team one day, but at the moment, it's not on the agenda."
Even the president of the Norwegian Football Association, Terje Svendsen, added: "In general, it's not the role of the association to say anything about the players' choice of club, but we are in an exceptional situation. All the football associations in Norway and in Europe have agreed to exert joint pressure on Russia, which has proven to have an effective influence even in sports."
Last August, prior to his exclusion from the national team, Normann was supposed to sign with US Lecce, an Italian club, and even arrived in Italy and was photographed with a team scarf. However, moments before his official presentation, the parties canceled the deal "by mutual agreement," as stated in the announcement.
In fact, the reports that emerged suggested that the reason for canceling the deal was due to medical issues that were discovered during the player's medical examinations. However, factors in his surroundings claimed that these issues never existed, and the player was in excellent condition. The true reason for the mysterious termination of the deal was not reported.