Football's best bromance: Why Bellingham and Haaland break the mould

Instagram in particular is awash with clips during matches of the two hugging or celebrating together.

And their confidence in front of TV cameras and on their own social media has won them armies of new admirers.

One particular clip in September 2021 after BVB's victory over Bestikas saw Haaland, 25, praise Bellingham as "amazing".

On cue he strolled into shot and planted a jokey kiss on his cheek before vanishing.

Another moment that has featured prominently all week sees Haaland rush in to seemingly protect Bellingham, 23, after a rival player pushed him on the pitch.

"If you go back to the days of the 90s or 00s a lot of brands fell out with footballers because they were so badly behaved," PR expert Mark Borkowski told the BBC.

"If you look at this generation of footballers they are a different breed and I think it is a lot to do with social media.

"Jude Bellingham conducts himself like a man twice his age, the wisdom, the level-headed nature and the self-awareness.

Social media expert Mark Navarra said the friendship showed a different, more affectionate side to footballers.

"In some ways it is a bit of an antidote in the sense that it gives people some relief from the more exhausting sides of football social media," he told the BBC.

"Football online is often built around outrage and tribalism and turning every player into either heroes and villains, so I think what these clips do is re-humanise two people who are normally cast as multi-million pound assets or rivals or goal-scoring machines. These are two of the most ruthlessly competitive players in world football, but off the pitch they are funny, affectionate and clearly comfortable in showing they care about each other.

"There is also something incredibly refreshing about two young male athletes displaying a warm notionally open friendship without feeling the need to perform hostility for the cameras - they can desperately still want to beat each other but still like and respect each other.

"Their chemistry feels earned rather than engineered. This friendship has years of history behind it.

"They are also a brilliant character pairing, Bellingham is polished, articulate, emotionally expressive, Haaland is much more eccentric, deadpan, naturally meme-able - I think together they reveal sides of each other fans don't normally see when they are performing as elite athletes."

The two players' respective lives off the pitch are also part of their popularity.

Haaland's girlfriend is childhood sweetheart Isabel Haugseng Johansen.

They appear to eschew the excesses of footballers' lives, explaining a typical night in during an interview with Norwegian channel NRK.

He said: "I cook dinner… It's going to be a little embarrassing for her that I say this, but she likes video games.

"We play Minecraft together, we build houses and all that. Or we go back home to Bryne and order kebabs."

Bellingham is widely reported to be going out with US model Ashlyn Castro. He has not talked about the relationship - but his close ties to his family are well-known.

"Looking back, I think if I had a dad that didn't play football, I probably would never have got into football really, because there was nothing there for me that motivated me to play at the start," he told the England Football website, external.

"And then I have my mum who has taught me more about life outside football, but it merges quite well. And even some of the stuff that my mum has taught me, I do take it on to the pitch, about staying calm, staying cool, being a good example to my team-mates and trying to lead and stuff like that. I think a lot of that comes from my mum because she's a very good leader."

In a world of questionable online content and polarising opinions, the two players' friendship is a welcome respite for many.

Navarra added: "I wouldn't overstate it and say one football bromance fixes toxic social media but it is a positive counter-programming.

"It gives fans rivalry without hatred - which increasingly certainly feels like a novelty online I think."

No matter what happens on Saturday night, it appears nothing will be able to crush the friendship between these two players.