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Forgotten Liverpool player stars in professional footgolf tournament... as he shares footage of stunning putt

Forgotten Liverpool player stars in professional footgolf tournament... as he shares footage of stunning putt

Daily Mail​3 days ago
Former Liverpool star Florent Sinama Pongolle has swapped football for a new profession in the world of sport.
The Frenchman, now 40, enjoyed five years with the Reds beginning in 2001, and even scored a crucial goal against Olympiacos in his club's run to the 2005 Champions League Final.
He called time on his playing career in 2019, but hasn't hung his boots up for good, with Sinama Pongolle now competing as a professional footgolfer.
The former Liverpool star shared videos of his skills on the course to his 107,000 Instagram followers on Tuesday, with fans left stunned by one incredible long-distance putt.
Sinama Pongolle, who played as a forward during his career, had been enjoying a day on the Golf de Saint Donat, a course not far from Cannes in southern France.
He's thought to represent the Havre footgolf club, in the same city he spent two years on loan playing for Le Havre.
🚨 Former Blackburn Rovers player Florent Sinama-Pongolle is now a professional footgolf player. #BRFC | #Rovers pic.twitter.com/Osb9qnhGqL
— RoversXtra (@RoversXtra) July 29, 2025
The first video shared by the now-bald Sinama Pongolle showed him teeing off, with the right-footer curling an effort towards the hole which only narrowly missed the green.
It was a later video which caught supporters' attention however, with the 40-year-old filmed holing an incredible side-footed putt which trickled into the hole.
And Sinama Pongolle seemed pretty pleased with himself, as the former Chicago Fire star punched the air in the French sunshine.
After rising through the Le Havre academy, which has also produced French stars such as Paul Pogba, Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet, Sinama Pongolle was signed by Liverpool in 2001 at the age of just 16.
He was however never a mainstay in the Reds' eleven during his time at Anfield, making 65 appearances across five seasons.
He was also loaned out twice, first back to Le Havre and later to fellow Premier League club Blackburn Rovers during the final year of his Liverpool contract.
Sinama Pongolle's greatest moment in a Liverpool shirt came off the bench in a Champions League group stage game in 2005.
After being sent on by Rafa Benitez during a game against Olympiacos, the striker repaid his manager's faith by netting a crucial goal in a 3-1 win that secured Liverpool's place in the last 16.
The ball trickled along the green towards the hole before eventually dropping in
The striker turned out for a Liverpool Legends XI only a couple of years ago at Anfield
Benitez's side, of course, went onto win the Champions League that year after a remarkable comeback from 3-0 down against AC Milan in the final.
Sinama Pongolle's time in Merseyside came to an end in 2006 when he made a move to Spanish side Recreativo, where he was a regular for two seasons.
Impressive performances in LaLiga earned him a move to Atletico Madrid in 2008, before also enjoying spells with Sporting Lisbon and Chicago Fire.
He called time on his playing career in 2019 after a brief spell with his hometown club Saint-Pierroise.
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