At least one football star is definitely not looking forward to the festive season. Chelsea winger Florent Malouda says the pressure of fixtures over the Christmas period is “terrible”.

His comments came in a remarkable attack on the state of the English game, and its players diets.

Malouda, 27, (pictured) who signed from Lyon for £13m in the summer said: “Training sessions are terrifying. They are maximum intensity, and you go flat out.
“During actual matches, it is as though everybody’s brains are switched off.

“People play by instinct, how they did when they first discovered football.”

Malouda also said he was amazed that English players can eat “whatever you like, drink Coke or anything”.

“It is a good job I have come over here at the age of 27 and so have not been following the same diet as the rest of the club’s players,” he added.

The French international has been out of action for a month with a knee injury but appears less than enthusiastic about returning for the busy Christmas fixture schedule.

He said: “I have been warned about the Christmas periods in English football. They sound terrible.”