Di football bromance wey don take over internet for World Cup, now dey show new side as England and Norway go face each other for quarter-final. Fans no just dey watch for goals, but for di special friendship between Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland.
Di two stars, wey don know each other from dia time for Borussia Dortmund, don produce plenty memorable clips wey don get new life for tournament. Di way dem dey hug, celebrate, and show love for each other don become antidote to toxic masculinity and dark corners of social media.
Instagram full of clips of dem dey together for matches, and dia confidence for TV and social media don win dem new admirers. One particular clip from September 2021, after BVB victory over Besiktas, see Haaland praise Bellingham as ‘amazing’. As e talk am, Bellingham stroll enter shot and plant jokey kiss on im cheek before vanish.
Another moment wey don feature prominently all week na when Haaland rush to protect Bellingham after rival player push am for pitch. PR expert Mark Borkowski tell BBC say, ‘If you go back to days of 90s or 00s, brands fell out with footballers because dem behave bad. But this generation na different breed, and I think social media get hand for am.’
Borkowski add say, ‘Jude Bellingham conducts himself like man twice im age, wisdom, level-headed nature, and self-awareness. Haaland come from wholesome family. Di European touch don make dem aware of different cultures and make dem who dem be.’
Di friendship first catch eye for BVB, wey even put out video for Valentine’s Day of dem reading cheesy pick-up lines to each other. Haaland read, ‘I’d like to take you to movies but dem no let you bring your own snacks.’ Bellingham respond, ‘Is your name Google, because you get all I dey search for.’
Some fans don invoke gay ice hockey romance ‘Heated Rivalry’, suggest di players get personal charm and sexual tension to fuel dia own football version, wey dem call ‘Cleated Rivalry’. Social media expert Mark Navarra say di friendship show different, more affectionate side to footballers.
Navarra tell BBC, ‘In some ways, e be antidote wey give people relief from exhausting sides of football social media. Football online often built around outrage and tribalism, turning players into heroes or villains. But dese clips re-humanise two people wey normally cast as multi-million pound assets or goal-scoring machines.’
E add, ‘Dese two be most ruthlessly competitive players for world football, but off pitch dem funny, affectionate, and comfortable to show dem care about each other. Dia chemistry feel earned, not engineered, and e get years of history behind am.’
Di players’ lives off pitch also part of dia popularity. Haaland girlfriend na childhood sweetheart Isabel Haugseng Johansen. Dem no dey follow excesses of footballer life. For interview with NRK, Haaland say, ‘I cook dinner… She like video games. We play Minecraft together, build houses, or go back home to Bryne and order kebabs.’
Bellingham dey go out with US model Ashlyn Castro, but e no talk about relationship. Im close ties to family well-known. E tell England Football website, ‘If I get dad wey no play football, I probably never get into football. My mum teach me about life outside football, about staying calm, being good example to team-mates.’
For world of questionable online content and polarising opinions, di friendship be welcome respite. Navarra add, ‘I no go overstate am say one football bromance fix toxic social media, but e be positive counter-programming. E give fans rivalry without hatred, wey increasingly feel like novelty online.’
Ezri Konsa, England defender, talk say dis World Cup clash fit birth historic rivalry between Haaland and Bellingham. For ITV Sport, e say, ‘E very well could be. In 15 years’ time, I go dey sit on my sofa watching Haaland or Jude be one of di two GOATs of world football.’
