Fans went absolutely bonkers when Jude Bellingham made a highly public Instagram post about his suspected connection with Laura Celia Valk.
In April of this year, rumours began circulating that the 21-year-old Real Madrid star and the 25-year-old Dutch influencer were dating, but by June, sources said it was all an elaborate marketing scam.
But astute observers noted that the footballer approved of the PrettyLittleThing model’s Thursday exhibition of explicit photos.
Jude was captivated by a photograph of Laura that showcased her stunning body in a pink corseted outfit.
A second one included a self-portrait in a pink ballerina shoe and a skimpy black leotard.
Jude Bellingham made a very public statement on his relationship with model Laura Celia Valk after months of speculation by liking a slew of her racy pictures on Instagram on Thursday
The Real Madrid star, 21, and the Dutch influencer, 25, have been linked since April this year but their rumoured romance was thought to have been a publicity stunt back in June (pictured Jude during the UEFA Champions League in Nobember)
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Laura has received nearly 40,000 likes on the post and one of them happens to be Jude – sending fans wild.
Taking to the comments, one fan wrote: ‘Jude liked it!’
Another said: ‘Hey Jude Bellingham.’
In June, it was said that their ‘romance’ was a publicity stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic executive at Manchester-based clothing company Pretty Little Thing, where Laura is a model.
It was at a glamourous lingerie photoshoot in Madrid that Laura apparently confided in make-up artists and hairdressers that she and Bellingham had got close.
In details believed to have been leaked by the firm to a red top newspaper, Laura was said to be ‘completely smitten’ and had spent time at his home in the Spanish city.
It was also claimed she had seen him play at Real’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the football star had liked the snaps the model posted
The gallery of pictures which caught Jude’s eye featured this sexy snap of Laura wearing a lace negligee, which showed off her enviable figure
The beauty also shared a sizzling snap of herself posing in front of the mirror wearing ballet shoes
Jude’s ‘like’ on the post sent fans wild and they weighed in on it in the comments
And while neither party has commented on reports of a relationship, two months on from Laura’s photoshoot the pair had not been seen together and there were claims that Bellingham is still on the exclusive dating app Raya.
A source close to PrettyLittleThing said that when bosses overheard that she knew Jude, an employee at the company contacted the newspaper.
‘It was one of those rumours that grew legs and there doesn’t seem to be an awful lot to it. But what was evident from the leak is that it got PrettyLittleThing a lot of publicity.
‘The story that Laura and Jude were dating went everywhere, and each time the story was repeated, PLT got a mention. It’s quite clever, really.
‘The world has been waiting for a glimpse of Laura but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen, she seems to be doing her own thing in Paris and having a jolly old time, too.’
Laura regularly shares bikini and lingerie snaps with her 560,000 Instagram followers.
It comes after it was said that their ‘romance’ was a publicity stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic executive at Manchester-based clothing company PrettyLittleThing, where Laura is a model (pictured Jude)
It was at a glamourous lingerie photoshoot in Madrid that Laura apparently confided in make-up artists and hairdressers that she and Bellingham had got close
As well as modelling, she owns a social media consultancy agency, having studied creative business at the Amsterdam University of Applied Science.
Jude was reportedly dating Ghanaian model Asantewa Chitty last year, but she kept the relationship private and never shared photos of the player on her social media pages.
However, the star midfielder was spotted in a series of images on celebrity dating app Raya in June 2023, shortly after announcing his move to Real Madrid.
He is also said to have dated model Asantewa Chitty and American TikTok star Azra Mian.