Monaco's trip to Bruges descended in chaos as players stripped into their underwear after an air conditioning failure forced them to cancel a flight to their Champions League curtain-raiser.
Adi Hutter's side are scheduled to face Belgian side Club Brugge on Thursday. However, a fault with the the air conditioning on their plane caused manic scenes on board.
Due to the extreme heat, Monaco stars were forced to take off their clothes and sit in nothing but underwear. Temperatures hit unbearable levels as the cabin became a sauna mid-air. Players were left drenched in sweat and fanning themselves in an attempt to cool off.
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Netherlands international Jordan Teze took out his phone and started recording wild scenes. A video shared on the 25-year-old Snapchat story showed the Monaco squad stripped down to their pants.
Some were later seen leaving the plane and standing on the runway half naked. In the end, Monaco's flight was cancelled and the players returned home.
Hutter revealed that the decision was taken to remain at home and travel to Bruges tomorrow. Despite this setback, Hutter is confident that his Monaco side can get off to a winning start.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to leave today," Hutter said. "I don't know if this setback will have an impact, as we are professional and immediately changed our schedule.
"We will therefore travel to Bruges tomorrow, which is the best possible solution, especially since we already did so for the match in Auxerre on Saturday by traveling the same day.
"For technical reasons, it was impossible to travel, as everyone's safety was not guaranteed. That's why we decided, in agreement with (CEO) Thiago Scuro, to postpone our trip."
While his teammates roasted mid-air, Paul Pogba is dealing with a different kind of waiting game. The Frenchman, who moved to Ligue 1 after signing a two-year deal with Monaco in the summer, is still searching for his first appearance for the club as he continues to rebuild fitness and sharpness.
Before his move to Monaco, ex-Manchester United midfielder Pogba had been without a club after his contract was terminated at Juventus last November. He left the Serie A outfit despite having his four-year doping ban reduced on appeal after testing positive for the prohibited substance DHEA.
Pogba has not kicked a ball in anger - since September 2023 - when he was introduced as a second-half substitute for Juventus against Empoli. He had played just 12 times, failing to score once, for the Old Lady after returning to the club from United on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.
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