Football brings out emotions from everyone – and it’s no different for the superstars playing the game.
Players are with each other nearly 24/7 and form close bonds and friendships through winning, losing and having each other’s backs on the pitch.
From Mason Mount and Declan Rice to David Beckham and Gary Neville, there have been several big-name bromances in the last 20 years.
Mason Mount and Declan Rice have one of the biggest bromances in football right now
David Beckham and Gary Neville are one of the more unlikely close friendships in the game
Fans always enjoy seeing players show their love for each other, even if Roy Keane may glare and sigh when he sees hugs between rivals at full-time.
Some mock each other on social media, some holiday together and others even get their own TV show.
It’s clear footballers have a lot of love for each other, and with today being Valentine’s Day, Sportsmail takes a look at the ten best bromances we have seen in the sport.
Declan Rice and Mason Mount
Perhaps the No 1 bromance in football right now, Rice and Mount have been best friends since childhood and are still going strong.
The pair immediately formed a close bond when Rice joined Mount at Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight. Rice was released six years later and joined West Ham but their on-the-pitch rivalry hasn’t affected their friendship.
The midfielders regularly go on holiday together, which brings us to the video that took their bromance in the spotlight.
The two players pictured on holiday in Dubai before Mount pranked his good friend
The midfielders share the pitch at international level and are on course to make the Euros
In July 2019, an unsuspecting Rice was filmed by Mount while he lay asleep on a boat in Dubai. The Chelsea man shouted to wake him up with Rice screaming out in shock.
While the pair may have been separated at club level, they are still able to link up on the international stage. It was fitting that when Rice scored his first England goal last year, Mount was also on the scoresheet in a 4-0 victory over Iceland.
They may yet end up on the same team in the Premier League but they will almost certainly be in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros this summer.
David Beckham and Gary Neville
He may have just given his brother a job at Inter Miami, but when it comes to Nevilles, there’s only one for David Beckham.
The duo were both part of Manchester United’s Class of 92 and went on to win 12 trophies together before Beckham left Real Madrid in 2003.
Despite differences over what time to get up in the morning (Neville was an early riser, Beckham is not), the former England captain named Gary as his best friend and the right back was his best man at his wedding to Victoria in 1999.
When the Spice Girls singer was away, Beckham often visited Neville’s house to cook meals, the latter revealed in an interview with The Guardian in 2014.
The pair (pictured at Gary’s testimonial match in 2011) won 12 trophies together at Manchester United before Beckham joined Real Madrid
They also shared the highs and lows of international football at five tournaments
‘I roomed with David Beckham and when I had my house in Bolton. David would stay when Victoria was away. He’d make food for me all the time. Stir-fries with noodles and vegetables and pasta dishes with sauces – a lot of pasta.’
Neville and Beckham also shared the highs and lows of international football, playing in five tournaments for the Three Lions.
The former players are also co-owners of League Two side Salford City, with Beckham joining the rest of the Class of 92 by purchasing a 10 per cent share in 2019.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Maxwell
It all started in 2001 when a Brazilian left back helped out his new, broke Ajax team-mate from Sweden.
Fifteen years later, the two had won a staggering 24 trophies together, including 10 league titles in four different countries.
After Zlatan left Ajax in 2004, he spent two years at Juventus before Maxwell joined him for spells at Inter Milan, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
The striker often takes the headlines but an interview in 2014 revealed the important role Maxwell had played in helping him when he had money problems at the start of his career in Amterdam.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Maxwell have won 24 trophies together at four different clubs
‘After two weeks I called Maxwell and I said I have problems, he was like ‘OK’, because Maxwell is the best guy in the world. I mean if you want to think of a teddy bear you have Maxwell. I called him I said ‘listen I don’t have food at home, I need help’, and he said ‘OK come to my place’.
‘He put me on the floor, with a mattress to sleep on. I slept in his house, I was hanging out with him, eating food and driving to training together. And after one month the salary came and it became easier for me.’
Maxwell didn’t follow Zlatan to Manchester United, LA Galaxy or AC Milan with the defender retiring in 2017. His friend is still going strong in Serie A.
Dejan Lovren and Mohamed Salah
The Croatian’s transfer to Zenit broke up one of the Premier League’s strongest friendships.
Lovren and Salah often joked they became friends ‘by mistake’ but the pair were by each other’s side since the Egyptian joined Liverpool in 2017.
‘From day one, we felt this connection,’ Lovren said of Salah back in 2018.
‘We have been talking a lot, we were talking about private things and we have a similar background, a tough life from the beginning.
‘It wasn’t easy to grow up where he was in Egypt without anything, and I had a similar thing in Croatia with the war and going back to Germany.
Dejan Lovren and Mohamed Salah formed a close bond when the Egyptian joined Liverpool
‘And then with his normality, how he can talk to you and when you see how he thinks… we are good friends, coffee, jokes!’
Their three years at Anfield also brought them much happiness on the pitch with the Reds winning the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup and their first Premier League title in 30 years.
Lovren also enjoyed making of fun of Salah during their time in Merseyside, regulalry mocking his ‘posy’ pictures and haircuts.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez
The two forwards formed an incredible partnership at Barcelona but this is another bromance that was broken apart by last summer’s transfer window with Suarez joining Atletico Madrid.
His enforced departure was said to have had a big impact on Messi’s decision to push for a move away from the Nou Camp with the Barca captain angry at the way his friend had been treated.
The Argentine and Uruguayan provided 88 assists to each other during their six years together but their bond was just as strong off the pitch.
Their families spend a lot of time together off the pitch with the former team-mates living close to each other and they are also regularly spotted on holiday.
Speaking about their friendship off the pitch in 2017, Messi said: ‘We play basketball. In the dressing room we have a hoop and we take shots. I’m not bad, but [Suarez] is awful!’
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez provided 88 assists for each other during their time at Barcelona
The forwards and their families live close to one another and regularly go on holidays together
John Terry and Frank Lampard
The two Chelsea heroes were part of the golden era at Stamford Bridge when Jose Mourinho won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006.
With Terry as skipper and Lampard vice captain, they lifted 13 trophies together (literally together) before Lampard left the club in 2014.
From Terry sneaking a hungover Lampard a McDonald’s breakfast at training ground to the midfielder helping his team-mate make a night out after he had been knocked unconscious in the 2007 League Cup final, the duo’s bond was unbreakable.
Terry has hailed Lampard as the best Blues player of all-time and insisted he would be a legend forever after the manager was sacked by the club last month.
He said: ‘Frank Lampard is the best ever at Chelsea and one of the best I’ve ever played with and against in world football today, and I think what set him apart was his dedication and hard work.’
Frank Lampard and John Terry were part of a golden generation at Stamford Bridge
Terry and Lampard lifting the FA Cup trophy together after beating Liverpool in 2012
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette
After being rivals in France, many thought they would be competing again with Aubameyang expected to usurp Lacazette as Arsenal’s main forward when he signed in 2018. However, that wasn’t the case.
‘It was love at first sight,’ Aubameyang told FourFourTwo.
‘Of course we are happy when we play together because we have such a good feeling between us.
‘When I joined Arsenal he was here and he came to me and talked to me, and now we are going well – we have the same vision about football and I love him. He is a great guy.’
Lacazette also said Aubameyang is ‘the kind of guy I want to hang out with’, adding that he isn’t ‘flashy’ but a ‘simple man with good values’.
And the Frenchman couldn’t hid his delight when he appeared in the Gabon striker’s Instagram live video after announcing he had signed a new contract last summer.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang said it was ‘love at first sight’ when he met Alexandre Lacazette
Eric Dier and Dele Alli
The Tottenham duo’s bromance has been well documented on social media and the pair even appeared on an episode of Celebrity Gogglebox together.
As all good friendships, they are not afraid of ripping each other to shreds on Instagram or Twitter.
To congratulate Alli on his new five-and-a-half year contract in 2016, Dier uploaded a picture of Alli as a child wearing sunglasses, a bright pink t-shirt and yellow cardigan, along with the caption: ‘Congratulations @delealli36 maybe time for some new gear now?’
Dele Alli and Eric Dier have regularly mocked each other on social media but are great friends
Alli has taken revenge by posting clips of his team-mate’s changing room dance moves and even suggesting he fight heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua after a sharing a video of his boxing skills.
Their bond was there for all to see in Spurs’ Amazon Prime documentary with Alli saying he has a good connection with his team-mates, despite being told there are ‘no friends in football ‘from an early age.
He may not have been part of the Tottenham squad on a regular basis this season but his friendship with Dier will continue after a possible January move failed to materialise.
Alli pictured feeding Dier a Haribo during the Spurs documentary on Amazon Prime
Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold
Several footballers have delved into the world of television – Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Vardy are just a few examples.
In November, Liverpool’s favourite full back’s got their own TV show (well, it was on Instagram) called ‘Wingmen’ and proclaimed themselves the ‘new Ant and Dec’.
In the five episodes, Alexander-Arnold drove around Liverpool with his lively Scottish team-mate alongside him as they discussed their title-winning season and took part in quizzes.
They have had a healthy competition when it comes to assists with Alexander-Arnold breaking the record for a defender in the 2018-2019 season with 12, which he then broke again the following season. Robertson was just one behind with 11.
On the night Liverpool won the Premier League, the Scotland captain revealed that his phone lock-screen is a picture of the two of them holding the Champions League trophy as he showed he had several missed calls from his team-mate as the celebrations were unfolding.
Whether they’ll be back for another series of their popular show remains to be seen.
Liverpool full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold have formed a strong partnership on and off the pitch
Robertson revealed his phone lock-screen is a picture of him and his defensive team-mate
James Maddison and Ben Chilwell
James Maddison took Ben Chilwell’s departure to Chelsea hard, so much so he posted a sweet tribute video to the left back – although the defender did admit it gave the impression he had passed away.
It seems Chilwell has forgiven Maddison for dropping him in it during an interview with Football Focus in 2019.
The pair took part in a Q&A with Maddison asked: ‘What’s the weirdest thing a teammate has done at your house?’
While in fits of laughter, Maddison replied: ‘Ben had a poo at mine, and didn’t flush flush the toilet.;
Almost in tears laughing, Chilwell replied: ‘I knew you were going to try and kill me!’
As well as being best mates with each other, Maddison revealed their ‘A’ celebration was a nod to a ‘secret’ WhatsApp group they are part of with Jack Grealish, Dele Alli, John McGinn Ross Barkley called ‘The Avengers.’
Ben Chilwell and James Maddison built a strong bromance at Leicester City
Not forgetting…
It may be a bromance made on Sky Sports but the blossoming relationship between Sportsmail’s Micah Richards and Roy Keane couldn’t go unmentioned.
Keane is known for his scathing analysis of players and managers but his friendship with Richards has definitely brought out his softer side.
The former Man City man even joked he was taking the ex-Man United skipper on a road trip earlier this year, before he joked about being Keane’s assistant coach if he decides to get back into management.
Even Keane couldn’t keep a straight face on last weekend’s Super Sunday. We just hope he’s got Micah a card.
Roy Keane and Micah Richards have developed a blossoming bromance on Sky Sports