Newcastle fans made a splash in Milan ahead of the Champions League showdown on Tuesday, with video capturing the moment one leapt into the city’s canal and took on a local rowing team in a bizarre race.

The over-confident fan left the rowers stunned as he divebombed into the Naviglio Grande and attempted to swim alongside them.

Delighted fans egged him on as he stripped down to his boxers to cool off in the canal, which was lined with Newcastle and England flags as supporters built up to the game.

Despite his bravado and enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, the bold swimmer only managed a few strokes before he was outpaced by the boat.

As the rowing boat disappears into the distance, clearly winning the competition, boos erupt as the man slowed down to a dejected paddle. 

‘He could have made it!’ one onlooker yelled sarcastically. Another joked that the man might need a life ring as he lost his stamina.

He later tried to clamber out of the canal, with no ladder or helping hand in sight. 

The fan’s bizarre stunt came just hours before his team were due to play AC Milan at the San Siro.

Jubilant fans filled the streets as the Magpies returned to the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.

Hundreds of raucous fans piled into the Lombardy capital, many going wild as they drunkenly took over the streets of the city.

More fans opted to go topless as they enjoyed pre-match drinks in the city centre, with video showing a handful sliding on their chests through the rain-soaked streets.

Their antics were slammed as ‘cringe’ by some locals, with the video showing annoyed residents pushing past dozens of men as they set up a slip and slide on the cobbled streets.

The group cleared a smooth part of the thoroughfare and put out plastic cups before launching themselves like a human bowling ball.

One man took a few people out as he flew towards the crowd, leaving members of the Toon Army in hysterics.

But after an entertaining build-up to the game, spirits were sadly dampened by the result, with a 0-0 draw on Tuesday night.

A man who broke his neck and severely injured his spinal cord will likely be left quadriplegic after jumping into a foam pit at a Spanish leisure centre.

The 27-year-old from Blimea in northern Spain sustained the injuries after the accident at a newly-opened leisure and games venue for adults and children in the nearby town of Colloto. 

His girlfriend and a group of friends discovered him unconscious and phoned the emergency services.

The man was then taken to the Central University Hospital of Asturias for treatment, but there are fears that he may end up quadriplegic, local news outlet La Nueva España de Siero reported.

His spine had been broken at the third cervical vertebra, or C3, halfway down the neck.

He has undergone surgery, but tests show that he has a complete spinal cord injury, which may leave him unable to move his arms or legs.

A complete spinal cord injury means that there is no nerve communication below the injury site, with sensory and motor function lost below that site. 

The 27-year-old is currently on assisted ventilation.

The venue remains open but the foam pit has been closed and an investigation into the cause of the accident is being carried out.

‘The facility complies with all safety measures,’ one of the partners in the establishment told La Nueva España de Siero.

The venue will hand over recordings of the accident for the investigation, but says it was not at fault.

Venue company officials told local news El Comercio: ‘It was not our fault, the installation is good and has all the necessary safety protections. We have hired experts and lawyers.’