Arsenal is gearing up for a critical showdown with Atletico Madrid as they aim to secure a spot in the Champions League final for the first time in two decades. Among the challenges they face is contending with one of Diego Simeone’s most dynamic players, Marcos Llorente.

This season, Llorente has reserved his goal-scoring prowess for the Champions League, with impressive performances that include two goals against Liverpool during the group stage and another against Tottenham in the round of 16.

Although Llorente was unable to score when Arsenal decisively defeated Atletico 4-0 in the group stages earlier this season, he, like Simeone’s squad, has a reputation for stepping up during crucial matches.

While Llorente is known for his strict diet and recovery regimen, which some attribute to his success, he has also sparked controversy with his outspoken views. These opinions have led to criticism from fans for allegedly spreading misinformation and have even drawn concern from government officials.

As the semi-final first leg approaches, we take a closer look at Llorente’s unconventional beliefs. Some of his practices are admired by wellness enthusiasts, while others might be better left unheeded.

Atletico Madrid star Marcos Llorente has come under fire for his unorthodox lifestyle choices

Llorente is a committed wearer of blue light-blocking glasses in a bid to boost his melatonin

‘Living and dying’ like a caveman  

Among his more conventional habits is an intense focus on nutrition, a trait common among elite athletes looking to enhance their performance through dietary choices.

However, the 31-year-old’s strictness might make other elite athletes blanch, with the star staunchly committed to observing a Paleolithic diet. The ‘caveman’ eating plan is based on foods consumed by early humans who lived over 10,000 years ago. 

As Llorente explained in an interview with radio programme Cadena SER in 2024, so strict is his commitment to the lifestyle that he has no plans to abandon it – under any circumstances. 

‘The Paleolithic diet is a lifestyle and a way of life,’ Llorente stated. ‘I will live and die by it.

‘I do it for my health, not for football. I’m sure that when I finish my career, I’ll continue to take care of myself the same way, or even better, than I do now.

‘It consists of eating what people ate during the Paleolithic era. You would have to eliminate all ultra-processed foods. Don’t even look at them. And also grains. All pasta, bread, wheat, and rice are off limits, as is dairy. Only high-quality cheeses are allowed. I eat everything. Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and cassava.’ 

While Stone Age Man would likely be puzzled by burrata or tuna tartare liberally scattered with caviar – as Llorente enjoyed over the summer break – the midfielder clearly practises what he preaches. 

The 31-year-old eats a strictly Paleolithic diet which is based on an eating plan assumed to follow a caveman’s diet

One aspect where Llorente does not have the healthiest diet is in his love of fine wines

However, one area where Llorente has observed some wiggle room is in his wine cellar. The Spaniard is a devoted oenophile, and even defended his occasional indulgence on social media. 

‘Health wise, of course I know wine isn’t the best for me, I’m not stupid,’ Llorente captioned a picture of himself toasting a glass of red wine with his wife Patricia Noarbe. ‘But what drives me to open a bottle with my family – conversations, hugs, memories – is infinitely greater than any negative aspect.’ 

Life through tinted lenses 

Another aspect of his lifestyle that Llorente has taken to social media to defend is his usage of glasses with tinted lenses, which aim to block blue light from artificial light sources including phone and computer screens. Llorente argues that by wearing them, he can boost his mitochondrial function and natural melatonin production, which he deems ‘the most powerful antioxidant in the body’. 

‘If you don’t care about your health, you can keep scrolling,’ Llorente told his followers, before extolling virtues of melatonin, which he believes includes anti-inflammatory properties, boosting the immune system, and ‘maintaining cellular voltage’. 

More vaguely, Llorente implied that boosting melatonin suggested that ‘cancer cannot proliferate’ in the body and that melatonin ‘prevents cancer and neurodegenerative diseases’. 

‘Wearing glasses that filter artificial light is not a biohacker fashion. It’s a necessity if you live trapped in modern environments, far from the sun, surrounded by screens and LED lights,’ he added. 

Llorente’s screed attracted at least one high profile supporter: Erling Haaland, who is frequently spotted sporting orange or red-tinted glasses for the same health-boosting properties. 

The Norwegian goalscoring behemoth commented ‘Well done’ under the post in a show of public support.

During his time at Manchester City, Haaland also introduced the glasses to team-mate Jack Grealish, while Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga is another prominent wearer of the blue-light blocking eyewear. 

Chemtrail conspiracies 

One aspect of his lifestyle philosophy where Llorente might find fewer followers is in his skepticism around airplane contrails, which are referred to as ‘chemtrails’ by conspiracy theorists. 

The belief that chemtrails are chemical or biological agents released by governments of major corporations – rather than water vapour – has been repeatedly debunked. But like another footballing conspiracy theorist, Matt Le Tissier, Llorente has poured fuel on the idea via social media. 

The Spaniard posted a picture of the clouds in the sky with the caption ‘enough is enough’, and has previously commented on posts of a similar nature implying that they were ‘disinfection’ and that he had ‘never seen skies’ with chemtrails in years prior. 

Llorente has shared his views with reporters covering Spain’s national team camp, saying: ‘I look at the sky and I’ve never seen this before.

‘A trail of 40 contrails blocking out the sun and generating clouds isn’t normal. 

‘I’m trying to convey this, and although many people say it’s water vapour, what’s happening isn’t normal and should be explained.’

The conspiracy theory is decades old, but picked up additional subscribers with the rise of social media, fomenting with particular strength during the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Llorente has frequently endorsed the repeatedly debunked theory that ‘chemtrails’ are the result of government or corporate intervention

‘Melanoma denier’

Most radical however is Llorente’s commitment to his own form of light therapy, and commitment to the healing properties of sunlight. 

Last year, the Atletico star caught heat when explaining his work-out routine in Hawaii, sharing that he had spent prolonged periods of time in the sun without either sun cream or sunglasses. 

When commenters online suggested that he would be more susceptible to skin cancer and the dangers of UV exposure, he shared a more pointed response, writing: ‘If you think skin cancer is caused by the sun, you’re the king of the ignorants’. 

He followed up with another statement to a user, adding: ‘The sun is not the problem; it’s our relationship with it, our diet, and artificial light. Some industries don’t want us to know that.’

Llorente’s medically inaccurate comments sparked like wildfire in his native Spain, and even forced Madrid’s Secretary of State for Health, Javier Padilla to share his own statement. 

‘Marcos Llorente, football player and melanoma denier. What a time to be alive,’ he shared on social media dryly. 

When Llorente broke his silence after the media firestorm, he stressed that he ‘did not say melanoma doesn’t exist’ and added that he was a ‘very respectful person’. 

But, the player stressed, he did not think the sun was ‘the culprit for illnesses’, doubling down on his original stance. 

‘Why is it the sun’s fault that we avoid it all year round and overindulge in it during vacation weeks?’ Llorente asked. ‘Why is it the sun’s fault that we eat six times a day and that food isn’t the right kind?

The Spain international is a long-term supporter of infrared light devices, even lighting his home solely with red lights 

‘What’s the sun’s fault? Artificial light (especially blue light) radiates from the moment you wake up until you go to bed, even when it’s already nighttime and we’re supposed to be in the dark so as not to destroy melatonin?

‘Artificial electromagnetic fields, so harmful to humans, are the sun’s fault. Our circadian rhythms are destroyed, a common characteristic of modern diseases. And so on.’

Such is Llorente’s adherence to reducing the impact of artificial light, he has opted to light his house with infrared light where he can ‘when the sun goes down’. 

Llorente has been adamant that he is not trying to convert people, only to ‘awaken awareness, question the established, and help restore the natural health that many have lost’. 

But whatever fans think of his beliefs, Llorente is likely to remain unrepentant. 

‘Nothing I share I make up,’ Llorente wrote on Instagram. ‘It’s not personal opinion. It’s biology.’