“I’m no weirdo!”, Conspiracy theorist Marcos Llorente targets Arsenal in Champions League

Last Updated on 29 April 2026

Marcos Llorente has spent years making enemies of Spanish health officials with his outspoken views on sunscreen, artificial lighting and chemtrails.

Now, the Atletico Madrid midfielder has a new target, Arsenal. As Mikel Arteta’s side travel to the Metropolitano for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg, they will not only have to contend with Llorente’s relentless engine and tireless running.

They will also face a man who, off the pitch, has become one of the most polarising and controversial figures in football. Which is not an easy task for the Gunners who are already battling Manchester City in the Premier League.

Why the Spanish health officials dislike Atletico’s Marcos Llorente

Marcos Llorente has cultivated a reputation as football’s most outspoken “biohacker” since becoming a key player for Atletico in 2019. His millions of social media followers have been treated to a stream of alternative views that have left Spain’s health establishment in despair.

The secretary of state for health, Javier Padilla, once branded him a “melanoma denier”. Meanwhile, Marisol Soengas, head of the melanoma group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, called his content a “worrying hoax.”

At the centre of the storm is Llorente’s conviction that sunscreen is not only unnecessary but actively harmful. “If you think skin cancer is caused by sun exposure, you’re the king of ignorance,” said Llorente per The Guardian.

He has posed in a sunscreen costume bearing the words “Protection against your biology”. While insisting the sun’s rays “should hit your eyes and skin, without anything interfering.” His argument is disarmingly simple, if scientifically contested.

Just as you wouldn’t blame exercise for a knee injury caused by sudden overexertion after a year of inactivity, you shouldn’t blame the sun for damage caused by erratic, unprotected exposure. “I’m not a weirdo,” he said last month. “The weird ones are the others.”

Llorente’s worldview extends well beyond sunscreen. He wears yellow-tinted glasses indoors to combat “the dangers” of artificial lighting and promotes red lighting after sunset. More recently he courted ridicule for his apparent sympathy with the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory.

He practises “grounding”, walking barefoot on natural surfaces. Not to mention, adhering to a Palaeolithic diet, eating nothing after sunset. And, for all the mockery, he’s an elite athlete. His supporters are not entirely wrong to point out that something, at least, is working.

Marcos Llorente is now Arsenal’s Champions League problem

The challenge Llorente poses Arsenal is a very different kind of threat to the one he poses Spain’s public health authorities. Yet, it’s a serious one. Arsenal come into Wednesday’s first leg at the Metropolitano as narrow favourites.

They carry the confidence of a side that has dismantled opponents throughout this campaign. However, Llorente, stationed in midfield, capable of covering every blade of grass on the pitch, represents the sort of high-energy disruptor that can derail even the most organised side.

Arteta’s team will be well aware of his quality. There is also the small matter of a storm threat hanging over the fixture, adding further unpredictability to an already volatile occasion. In any case, Arsenal will need to solve the Llorente problem, on the pitch, at least.

The health officials of Spain have so far failed to manage it off it.