Soccer-Cycling to training and second-hand shoes, Betis’s Bellerin wins green award

LONDON (Reuters) -Training ground car parks at top European soccer clubs are usually stacked with gleaming super cars but former Arsenal player Hector Bellerin prefers two wheels to four.

Spaniard Bellerin, who now plays for Real Betis, chooses to cycle to work or use public transport — part of his determination to eschew materialism and use his sporting profile to promote sustainability.

“It would be easier to take a cab. I know I’m privileged, but … we need greener cities, with fewer cars,” Bellerin, who on Monday was named global champion at the BBC Green Sport Awards, said.

The 30-year-old is not your stereotypical soccer player. He uses his large social media following to highlight the impact climate change is having on sport and tries to encourage his followers to be more ethical